Stochastic extinction of viral infectivity through the action of defectors

The high error rates of RNA viruses at replication suggest they might be close to the extinction threshold predicted by quasispecies theory. Hence, moderate increases in the mutation rate could drive them to extinction. In persistent infections of an RNA virus treated with a mutagen, it has been observed that infectivity eventually disappears, although the replicative ability of the virus is not affected. By means of a simple model that takes into account two phenotypic traits, we demonstrate that extinction is a purely stochastic phenomenon caused by the intermittent outbreaks of a defective, non-infective subpopulation. The transition between dynamics dominated by population fluctuations (finite system size N) and the mean-field behavior (N $\rightarrow$ $\infty $) is characterized. We discuss the implications of this alternative pathway to viral extinction.