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Origin of measles virus: divergence from rinderpest virus between the 11th and 12th centuries

Yuki Furuse1, Akira Suzuki, Hitoshi Oshitani

  • 1Department of Virology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai city, Japan.

Virology Journal
|March 6, 2010
PubMed

Insights

The measles virus (MeV) likely emerged in the early 20th century, diverging from rinderpest virus (RPV) around the 11th-12th centuries. This finding offers new insights into the evolution of emerging infectious diseases.

Area of Science:

  • Virology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Measles, caused by the measles virus (MeV), is a common childhood infection.
  • MeV belongs to the Morbillivirus genus and is closely related to rinderpest virus (RPV), a cattle pathogen.
  • Previous hypotheses suggested MeV evolved alongside humans and cattle in close proximity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the evolutionary history and divergence times of the measles virus (MeV) and rinderpest virus (RPV).
  • To understand the origins and timeline of MeV emergence.
  • To provide insights into the dynamics of emerging infectious diseases.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized relaxed clock Bayesian phylogenetics to estimate evolutionary rates and divergence times.
  • Analyzed genetic data to reconstruct the evolutionary history of MeV and RPV.

Main Results:

  • Estimated the evolutionary rate of MeV at 6.0-6.5 x 10^-4 substitutions/site/year.
  • Determined the most recent common ancestor of current MeV strains emerged in the early 20th century.
  • Dated the divergence between MeV and RPV to the 11th-12th centuries.

Conclusions:

  • The findings challenge the long-held belief that MeV emerged in prehistoric times.
  • Suggests MeV may have originated from a non-human species, causing emerging infectious diseases around the 11th-12th centuries.
  • Highlights the importance of studying measles to understand the broader patterns of emerging infectious diseases.

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