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Utility of hypervariable region in hepatitis E virus for genetic evolution analysis and epidemiological studies
Dong-Hwi Kim1, Da-Yoon Kim1, Jae-Hyeong Kim1
1Department of Infectious Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Seoul 05029, Gwangjin-gu, Republic of Korea.
The Journal of General Virology
|February 12, 2025
Summary
The hypervariable region (HVR) of hepatitis E virus (HEV) offers a more accurate phylogenetic analysis than other regions. Focusing on HVRs can improve understanding of HEV genetic diversity and evolution.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection understanding has advanced, but clinical outcome improvements lag.
- Phylogenetic analyses of HEV are inconsistent due to variations in studied nucleotide regions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare phylogenetic analyses using the complete HEV genome versus commonly studied partial regions.
- To identify the most informative HEV genomic region for accurate molecular and phylogenetic analysis.
Main Methods:
- Comparative analysis of phylogenetic trees derived from complete and partial HEV genomes.
- Evaluation of evolutionary divergence using base substitutions and pairwise distances.
- Assessment of topological similarities using Robinson-Foulds and Jaccard Robinson-Foulds metrics.
Main Results:
- The hypervariable region (HVR) exhibited the closest topological similarity to the complete genome.
- HVR demonstrated a higher mutation rate, longer branch lengths, and greater intra- and intergenotypic diversity.
- HVR analysis revealed clearer genotypic distinctions compared to other partial regions.
Conclusions:
- The hypervariable region (HVR) is a more reliable marker for HEV genotyping than other partial genomic regions.
- Utilizing HVR for classification can reveal HEV subtypes that better reflect genetic characteristics.
- Future research should prioritize HVRs for enhanced comparison of HEV clinical symptoms and genetic features.
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