Rooting human parechovirus evolution in time
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Faria, Nuno R
de Vries, Michel
van Hemert, Formijn J
Benschop, Kimberley
van der Hoek, Lia
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Background
The Picornaviridae family contains a number of important pathogenic viruses, among which the recently reclassified human parechoviruses (HPeVs). These viruses are widespread and can be grouped in several types. Understanding the evolutionary history of HPeV could answer questions such as how long the circulating lineages last shared a common ancestor and how the evolution of this viral species is shaped by its population dynamics. Using both strict and relaxed clock Bayesian phylogenetics we investigated 1) the substitutions rates of the structural P1 and capsid VP1 regions and 2) evolutionary timescale of currently circulating HPeV lineages.
Results
Our estimates reveal that human parechoviruses exhibit high substitution rates for both structural P1 and capsid VP1 regions, respectively 2.21 × 10-3 (0.48 – 4.21 × 10-3) and 2.79 × 10-3 (2.05 – 3.66 × 10-3) substitutions per site per year. These are within the range estimated for other picornaviruses. By employing a constant population size coalescent prior, the date of the most recent common ancestor was estimated to be at around 1600 (1427–1733). In addition, by looking at the frequency of synonymous and non-synonymous substitutions within the VP1 gene we show that purifying selection constitutes the dominating evolutionary force leading to strong amino acid conservation.
Conclusion
In conclusion, our estimates provide a timescale for the evolution of HPeVs and suggest that genetic diversity of current circulating HPeV types has arisen about 400 years ago.
The Picornaviridae family contains a number of important pathogenic viruses, among which the recently reclassified human parechoviruses (HPeVs). These viruses are widespread and can be grouped in several types. Understanding the evolutionary history of HPeV could answer questions such as how long the circulating lineages last shared a common ancestor and how the evolution of this viral species is shaped by its population dynamics. Using both strict and relaxed clock Bayesian phylogenetics we investigated 1) the substitutions rates of the structural P1 and capsid VP1 regions and 2) evolutionary timescale of currently circulating HPeV lineages.
Results
Our estimates reveal that human parechoviruses exhibit high substitution rates for both structural P1 and capsid VP1 regions, respectively 2.21 × 10-3 (0.48 – 4.21 × 10-3) and 2.79 × 10-3 (2.05 – 3.66 × 10-3) substitutions per site per year. These are within the range estimated for other picornaviruses. By employing a constant population size coalescent prior, the date of the most recent common ancestor was estimated to be at around 1600 (1427–1733). In addition, by looking at the frequency of synonymous and non-synonymous substitutions within the VP1 gene we show that purifying selection constitutes the dominating evolutionary force leading to strong amino acid conservation.
Conclusion
In conclusion, our estimates provide a timescale for the evolution of HPeVs and suggest that genetic diversity of current circulating HPeV types has arisen about 400 years ago.
Date Issued
2009-07-15
Date Acceptance
2009-07-15
Citation
BMC Evolutionary Biology, 2009, 9, pp.1-8
ISSN
1471-2148
Publisher
BioMed Central
Start Page
1
End Page
8
Journal / Book Title
BMC Evolutionary Biology
Volume
9
Copyright Statement
© 2009 Faria et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0),
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0),
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Identifier
http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000269468400001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
Subjects
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Evolutionary Biology
Genetics & Heredity
RNA VIRUS EVOLUTION
AMINO-ACID SITES
POSITIVE SELECTION
MOLECULAR CLOCKS
STOOL SAMPLES
IDENTIFICATION
RATES
INFECTIONS
INFERENCE
DYNAMICS
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTN 164
Date Publish Online
2009-07-15