What characteristic of an RNA-based viral genome complicates treatment with medications?

An RNA-based viral genome is characterized by its instability during replication, which plays a significant role in complicating treatment with medications. RNA viruses typically have high error rates during their replication process due to the lack of proofreading mechanisms in RNA polymerases. This instability leads to a rapid accumulation of mutations, which allows the virus to quickly adapt and escape the effects of antiviral treatments.

When a virus can mutate swiftly, it can develop resistance to medications designed to target specific viral proteins or replication processes. This makes finding effective and long-lasting treatments particularly challenging, as the virus can change before the body or treatment can fully combat it. The ability of these viruses to continuously evolve means that treatment strategies must be agile and can often require combination therapies to mitigate the risk of resistance developing.

In contrast, characteristics such as high stability, low mutation rate, or the ability to remain dormant do not align with the inherent properties of RNA viruses that directly hinder treatment efficacy. High stability or low mutation rates would typically make a virus easier to target with medications, while dormancy is more relevant to certain other types of infections rather than RNA viral replication dynamics.