Exploring Genomic, Geographic and Virulence Interactions among Epidemic and Non-Epidemic St. Louis Encephalitis Virus (Flavivirus) Strains

St. Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV) is a re-emerging arbovirus in South America. In 2005, an encephalitis outbreak caused by SLEV was reported in Argentina. The reason for the outbreak remains unknown, but may have been related to virological factors, changes in vectors populations, avian amplifying...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2015-08, Vol.10 (8), p.e0136316-e0136316
Main Authors: Diaz, Luis A, Goñi, Sandra E, Iserte, Javier A, Quaglia, Agustín I, Singh, Amber, Logue, Christopher H, Powers, Ann M, Contigiani, Marta S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amino acid sequence
Analysis
Animals
Argentina
Bioinformatics
Bird migration
Birds
Causes of
Cercopithecus aethiops
Change detection
Communicable Diseases, Emerging - epidemiology
Communicable Diseases, Emerging - genetics
Culex
Culicidae
Dengue fever
Encephalitis
Encephalitis Virus, St. Louis - genetics
Encephalitis Virus, St. Louis - pathogenicity
Encephalitis, St. Louis - epidemiology
Encephalitis, St. Louis - genetics
Environmental conditions
Epidemics
Evolution
Flavivirus
Flaviviruses
Genes
Genetic aspects
Genome, Viral
Genomes
Genotype
Genotype & phenotype
Genotypes
Geography
Humans
Infections
Migration
Migratory birds
Molecular chains
Molecular modelling
Mosquitoes
Mutation
Phylogeny
Physiological aspects
Proteins
St. Louis encephalitis
Strains (organisms)
United States - epidemiology
Vaccines
Vectors
Vero Cells
Viral Proteins - genetics
Virology
Virulence
Virulence (Microbiology)
Viruses
West Nile virus
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Description
Summary:St. Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV) is a re-emerging arbovirus in South America. In 2005, an encephalitis outbreak caused by SLEV was reported in Argentina. The reason for the outbreak remains unknown, but may have been related to virological factors, changes in vectors populations, avian amplifying hosts, and/or environmental conditions. The main goal of this study was to characterize the complete genome of epidemic and non-epidemic SLEV strains from Argentina. Seventeen amino acid changes were detected; ten were non-conservative and located in proteins E, NS1, NS3 and NS5. Phylogenetic analysis showed two major clades based on geography: the North America and northern Central America (NAnCA) clade and the South America and southern Central America (SAsCA) clade. Interestingly, the presence of SAsCA genotype V SLEV strains in the NAnCA clade was reported in California, Florida and Texas, overlapping with known bird migration flyways. This work represents the first step in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying virulence and biological variation among SLEV strains.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0136316