Previous work from this laboratory has demonstrated a correlation between the inhibition by ribavirin (Rbv), mycophenolic acid (MPA), or 2-amino thiadiazole (TDA) of Sindbis virus replication in Aedes albopictus mosquito cells and a reduction in cellular GTP levels. This reduction in GTP results from the inhibition by these drugs of inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH), the first enzyme specific for the de novo synthesis of GMP. By serial passage of SV in A. albopictus cells in the presence of 25 microM MPA, we have now isolated viral mutants which are highly resistant not only to MPA but also to Rbv and TDA. For example, whereas 500 microM Rbv reduced the plaquing efficiency of SVSTD by at least 10(6)-fold, the same concentration of Rbv reduced the plaquing efficiency of the MPA-resistant mutants less than 5-fold. This is the first example of a viral mutant resistant to the antiviral compound Rbv.