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Updated: Nov 9, 2025
10:46
Production of Human Norovirus Protruding Domains in E. coli for X-ray Crystallography
Published on: April 19, 2016
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Molecular Evolution of Human Norovirus GII.2 Clusters
Xingguang Li1, Haizhou Liu2, Brittany Rife Magalis3
1Department of Hospital Office, The First People's Hospital of Fangchenggang, Fangchenggang, China.
Frontiers in Microbiology
|April 8, 2021
Summary
Human norovirus GII.2 showed increased genetic diversity during the 2016-2017 outbreak, with a fluctuating population size over 15 years. Viral evolution or selection pressure did not drive this widespread norovirus GII.2 outbreak.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Epidemiology
- Molecular Evolution
Background:
- The 2016-2017 winter season saw an unprecedentedly large and widespread human norovirus GII.2 outbreak.
- This specific norovirus GII.2 strain exhibited a broad geographic distribution.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the evolutionary dynamics and population behavior of human norovirus GII.2 during the 2016-2017 outbreak.
- To analyze genetic diversity and evolutionary rates of norovirus GII.2.
Main Methods:
- Phylodynamic analysis of 519 complete norovirus GII.2 VP1 gene sequences from 7 countries, spanning from 1976 to 2017.
- Utilized maximum likelihood and Bayesian statistical frameworks to estimate viral evolutionary and population dynamics.
Main Results:
- Observed increased genetic diversity in human norovirus GII.2 during the recent Asian outbreak, with at least eight distinct clusters identified.
- Bayesian analysis indicated a highly fluctuating effective population size, with increasing frequency over the past 15 years.
Conclusions:
- No evidence of elevated evolutionary rate or significant selection pressure was found in human norovirus GII.2.
- Viral evolutionary adaptation was not identified as the cause for the outbreak's volatility or spread.
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