• FluTrackers.com Inc. does not provide medical advice. Information on this web site is collected from various internet resources, and the FluTrackers board of directors makes no warranty to the safety, efficacy, correctness or completeness of the information posted on this site by any author or poster. The information collated here is for instructional and/or discussion purposes only and is NOT intended to diagnose or treat any disease, illness, or other medical condition. Every individual reader or poster should seek advice from their personal physician/healthcare practitioner before considering or using any interventions that are discussed on this website. By continuing to access this website you agree to consult your personal physican before using any interventions posted on this website, and you agree to hold harmless FluTrackers.com Inc., the board of directors, the members, and all authors and posters for any effects from use of any medication, supplement, vitamin or other substance, device, intervention, etc. mentioned in posts on this website, or other internet venues referenced in posts on this website.
  • We are not asking for any donations. Do not donate to any entity who says they are raising funds for us.

Genetic lineage and reassortment of influenza C viruses circulating between 1947 and 2014

tetano

Editor, Senior Moderator
J Virol. 2016 Jul 6. pii: JVI.00969-16. [Epub ahead of print]
[h=1]Genetic lineage and reassortment of influenza C viruses circulating between 1947 and 2014.[/h] Matsuzaki Y[SUP]1[/SUP], Sugawara K[SUP]2[/SUP], Furuse Y[SUP]3[/SUP], Shimotai Y[SUP]2[/SUP], Hongo S[SUP]2[/SUP], Oshitani H[SUP]3[/SUP], Mizuta K[SUP]4[/SUP], Nishimura H[SUP]5[/SUP].
[h=3]Author information[/h]

[h=3]Abstract[/h] Since influenza C virus was first isolated in 1947, the virus has been only occasionally isolated by cell culture; there are only four strains for which complete genome sequences are registered. Here, we analyzed a total of 106 complete genomes ranging from the first isolate from 1947 to recent isolates from 2014 to determine the genetic lineages of influenza C virus, the reassortment events, and the rates of nucleotide substitution. The results showed that there are six lineages named C/Taylor, C/Mississippi, C/Aichi, C/Yamagata, C/Kanagawa, and C/Sao Paulo. They contain both antigenic and genetic lineages of the hemagglutinin-esterase (HE) gene, and the internal genes PB2, PB1, P3, NP, M, and NS are divided into two major lineages, a C/Mississippi/80-related lineage and a C/Yamagata/81-related lineage. Reassortment events were found over the entire period of 68 years. Several outbreaks of influenza C virus between 1990 and 2014 in Japan consisted of reassortant viruses, suggesting that the genomic constellation is related to influenza C virus epidemics. The nucleotide sequences were highly homologous to each other. The minimum percentage identity between viruses ranged from 91.1% for the HE gene to 96.1% for the M gene, and the rate of nucleotide substitution for the HE gene was the highest at 5.20 ? 10[SUP]-4[/SUP] substitutions/site/year. These results indicate that reassortment is an important factor that increases the genetic diversity of influenza C virus, resulting in its ability to prevail in humans.
[h=4]IMPORTANCE:[/h] Influenza C virus is a pathogen that causes acute respiratory illness in children and results in hospitalization of infants. We previously demonstrated that periodic epidemics of this virus occurred in Japan between 1996 and 2014 and that replacement of the dominant antigenic group occurred every several years as a result of selection by herd immunity. However, the antigenicity of the HE glycoprotein is highly stable, and antigenic drift has not occurred for at least 30 years. Here, we analyzed a total of 106 complete genomes spanning 68 years for the first time, and we found that influenza C viruses are circulating worldwide while undergoing reassortment as well as selection by herd immunity, resulting in an increased ability to prevail in humans. The results presented in this study contribute to the understanding of the evolution, including reassortment events, underlying influenza C virus epidemics.
Copyright ? 2016, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.


PMID: 27384661 DOI: 10.1128/JVI.00969-16
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
 
Back
Top Bottom