Related Experiment Videos
Evolution of European bat lyssaviruses
B Amengual1, J E Whitby, A King
1Unité de la Rage, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
The Journal of General Virology
|September 18, 1997
Summary
European bat lyssaviruses (EBL) and Duvenhage viruses show distinct evolutionary paths. Phylogenetic analysis reveals three genotypes (4, 5, 6) with EBL1 and EBL2 evolving into separate lineages.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Molecular Biology
- Evolutionary Biology
Background:
- Lyssaviruses, including European bat lyssaviruses (EBL) and Duvenhage viruses, pose public health concerns.
- Understanding their evolutionary relationships is crucial for epidemiology and control.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the evolutionary relationships of European bat lyssaviruses (EBL) and African insectivorous bat lyssaviruses (Duvenhage viruses).
- To analyze the genetic diversity and evolutionary pathways of these lyssaviruses.
Main Methods:
- Direct sequencing of PCR-amplified nucleoprotein gene fragments (400 nucleotides).
- Phylogenetic analysis using maximum parsimony and neighbor-joining methods with bootstrap resampling.
- Analysis of both nucleotide and amino acid sequences.
Main Results:
- Lyssaviruses clustered into three distinct genotypes: genotype 4 (Duvenhage), genotype 5 (EBL1), and genotype 6 (EBL2).
- EBL1 and EBL2 exhibited low intrinsic heterogeneity, primarily due to synonymous substitutions.
- Both EBL1 and EBL2 evolved into at least two genetically distinguishable lineages (a and b) influenced by geographical distribution.
- EBL1b lineage likely originated from North Africa and represents a recent introduction into Northern Europe.
Conclusions:
- The study clarifies the phylogenetic structure of EBL and Duvenhage viruses.
- Geographical factors have significantly shaped the evolution and spread of EBL1 and EBL2 lineages.
- Identified potential reservoirs: Eptesicus serotinus for EBL1, and Myotis dasycneme/M. daubentonii for EBL2.