The majority of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected patients treated with zidovudine (AZT) plus zalcitabine (ddC) and didanosine (ddI) develop AZT resistance mediated by mutations such as T215Y and M41L. Only a small proportion of patients develop multiple dideoxynucleoside resistance (MDNR) mediated by the Q151M mutation. To gain insight into the factors responsible for the low frequency of selection of Q151M, we evaluated the replication capabilities of recombinant viruses carrying two possible intermediates (151L or 151K) of the Q151M mutation generated in different reverse transcriptase (RT) genetic backgrounds. The 151L and 151K mutations were introduced by site-directed mutagenesis in RTs from two patient-derived HIV-1 isolates that had either wild type (WT) Q or the Q151M (posttreatment isolate) mutation. For comparison, both mutations were also introduced in a laboratory-adapted HIV-1 strain (HIV-1(HXB2)). Analysis of replication capabilities showed that both 151L and 151K were lethal in RT genetic backgrounds of the WT isolate and in HIV-1(HXB2). In contrast, 151L but not 151K allowed virus replication in RT backgrounds of the posttreatment isolate. Three mutations (V35I, S68G, and I178M) were present in the RT background of the posttreatment isolate but not in the WT isolate. Introduction of S68G in the RT of both the WT isolate and HIV-1(HXB2) partially restored replication capacity of recombinants carrying the 151L mutation. The S68G mutation alone did not confer a significant replicative disadvantage in WT viruses. Like HIV-1(151M), HIV-1(151L) RT was found to have six- to eightfold resistance to AZT-triphosphate (TP), ddA-TP, and ddC-TP, indicating an MDNR phenotype. However, HIV-1(151L) was found to be less fit than HIV-1(151M), which may explain the preferential selection of HIV-1(151M) observed in vivo. The demonstrated ability of HIV-1(151L/68G) to replicate and the associated MDNR suggest that 151L is a potential intermediate of Q151M. The dependence of HIV-1(151L) on other mutations, such as S68G, for replication may explain the low frequency of the Q151M-mediated pathway of resistance.