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18:10
Isolation of Fidelity Variants of RNA Viruses and Characterization of Virus Mutation Frequency
Published on: June 16, 2011
Genus-specific substitution rate variability among picornaviruses.
Allison L Hicks1, Siobain Duffy
1Department of Ecology, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.
Journal of Virology
|May 27, 2011
Summary
Enteroviruses evolve significantly faster than other picornaviruses, according to a meta-analysis of viral evolutionary rates. This study provides the first within-family comparison of these rapid evolutionary rates.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Picornaviruses exhibit high nucleotide substitution rates.
- Previous studies lacked within-family comparisons of picornavirus evolutionary rates.
Purpose of the Study:
- To conduct the first meta-analysis of viral evolutionary rates within the Picornaviridae family.
- To compare evolutionary rates across different picornavirus genera.
Main Methods:
- Bayesian coalescent analyses were performed on VP1 gene regions from four picornaviruses.
- Published VP1 evolutionary rates from 22 other picornaviruses were incorporated.
- Rate estimates for the RNA polymerase 3D(pol) gene from five viruses were compared with four published rates.
Main Results:
- Enteroviruses demonstrate evolutionary rates approximately half an order of magnitude higher than other picornavirus genera.
- This finding was consistent for both a structural gene (VP1) and a nonstructural gene (3D(pol)).
Conclusions:
- Enteroviruses are rapidly evolving compared to other members of the Picornaviridae family.
- The study highlights significant evolutionary rate variation within the Picornaviridae family.
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