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Updated: Jan 24, 2026

Vector Competence Analyses on Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes using Zika Virus
Published on: May 31, 2020
Mutational landscape of Zika virus strains worldwide and its structural impact on proteins
Almerinda Agrelli1, Ronald Rodrigues de Moura2, Sergio Crovella3
1Laboratory of Immunopathology Keizo Asami (LIKA) - Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Av. Prof. Moraes Rego, 1235 - Cidade Universitária, Recife, Brazil.
Abstract:
Zika virus (ZIKV) has spread globally and has been linked to the onset of microcephaly and other brain abnormalities. The ZIKV genome consists of an ~10.7 kb positive-stranded RNA molecule that encodes three structural (C, prM and E) and seven nonstructural (5'-NS1-NS2A-NS2B-NS3- NS4A/2K-NS4B-NS5-3') proteins. In this work, we looked for genetic variants in 485 ZIKV complete genomes from GenBank (NCBI) and performed a computational systematic approach using MAESTROweb server to assess the impact of nonsynonymous mutations in ZIKV proteins (C, M, E, NS1, NS2A, NS2B-NS3 protease, NS3 helicase and NS5). Then, we merged the data and correlated it with the phenotypic reports of ZIKV circulating strains. The sensitivity profile of the proteins showed 96 mutational hotspots. We found 22 relevant mutations in proteins C (I80T), NS2A (I34M/T/V, I45V, I80T/V, L113F, A117V, I118V, L128P, V143A, T151A, M199I/V, R207K and L208I) and NS3 helicase (D436G, Y498H, R525K, Q528R and R583K) of the circulating strains. Our analysis exploited the impact of nonsynonymous mutations on ZIKV proteins, their structural and functional insights. The results presented here could advance our current understanding on ZIKV proteins functions and pathogenesis.
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