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Updated: Apr 12, 2026

Modeling The Lifecycle Of Ebola Virus Under Biosafety Level 2 Conditions With Virus-like Particles Containing Tetracistronic Minigenomes
Published on: September 27, 2014
Impact of spatial dispersion, evolution, and selection on Ebola Zaire Virus epidemic waves
Taj Azarian1, Alessandra Lo Presti2, Marta Giovanetti2
11] College of Public Health and Health Professions and College of Medicine, Department of Epidemiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA [2] Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Abstract:
Ebola virus Zaire (EBOV) has reemerged in Africa, emphasizing the global importance of this pathogen. Amidst the response to the current epidemic, several gaps in our knowledge of EBOV evolution are evident. Specifically, uncertainty has been raised regarding the potential emergence of more virulent viral variants through amino acid substitutions. Glycoprotein (GP), an essential component of the EBOV genome, is highly variable and a potential site for the occurrence of advantageous mutations. For this study, we reconstructed the evolutionary history of EBOV by analyzing 65 GP sequences from humans and great apes over diverse locations across epidemic waves between 1976 and 2014. We show that, although patterns of spatial dispersion throughout Africa varied, the evolution of the virus has largely been characterized by neutral genetic drift. Therefore, the radical emergence of more transmissible variants is unlikely, a positive finding, which is increasingly important on the verge of vaccine deployment.
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