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Evidence of recombination among early-vaccination era measles virus strains

Mikkel H Schierup1, Carl H Mordhorst, Claude P Muller

  • 1Bioinformatics Research Center (BiRC), University of Aarhus, Hoegh Guldbergs Gade 10, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark. mheide@birc.au.dk

BMC Evolutionary Biology
|October 8, 2005
PubMed
Abstract

Insights

Measles virus recombination was detected in pre-vaccination strains, impacting sequence evolution. Post-vaccination, recombination is not evident due to altered virus dynamics and less frequent divergent strain encounters.

Area of Science:

  • Virology
  • Molecular Evolution
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Live-attenuated measles vaccines introduced in the 1960s altered global virus circulation patterns.
  • Measles virus now circulates via limited lineages, causing sporadic outbreaks or endemic disease in specific regions.
  • Pre-vaccination, diverse genomic variants likely co-circulated, increasing co-infection probabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the occurrence and impact of intergenomic recombination in measles virus evolution.
  • To compare recombination evidence in pre-vaccination strains versus contemporary strains.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of partial hemagglutinin gene sequences from 18 measles virus strains (Denmark, 1965-1983).
  • Comparison with global strains collected post-vaccination initiation.
  • Statistical analyses including linkage disequilibrium and phylogenetic methods to detect recombination.

Main Results:

  • Evidence suggests intergenomic recombination occurred among pre-vaccination measles virus strains.
  • Linkage disequilibrium patterns supported recombination, decreasing with distance between sites.
  • No significant evidence of recombination was found in currently circulating measles virus strains.

Conclusions:

  • Recombination in measles virus is demonstrated, with a detectable impact on pre-vaccination sequence evolution.
  • The reduced detectability of recombination in present-day strains is attributed to altered virus dynamics.
  • Current epidemics, often driven by single sequence types, limit opportunities for divergent strain co-infection and recombination.

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