scholarly journals Intragenic recombination influences rotavirus diversity and evolution

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Hoxie ◽  
John J Dennehy

Abstract Because of their replication mode and segmented dsRNA genome, homologous recombination is assumed to be rare in the rotaviruses. We analyzed 23,627 complete rotavirus genome sequences available in the NCBI Virus Variation database, and found 109 instances of homologous recombination, at least eleven of which prevailed across multiple sequenced isolates. In one case, recombination may have generated a novel rotavirus VP1 lineage. We also found strong evidence for intergenotypic recombination in which more than one sequence strongly supported the same event, particularly between different genotypes of segment 9, which encodes the glycoprotein, VP7. The recombined regions of many putative recombinants showed amino acid substitutions differentiating them from their major and minor parents. This finding suggests that these recombination events were not overly deleterious, since presumably these recombinants proliferated long enough to acquire adaptive mutations in their recombined regions. Protein structural predictions indicated that, despite the sometimes substantial amino acid replacements resulting from recombination, the overall protein structures remained relatively unaffected. Notably, recombination junctions appear to occur nonrandomly with hot spots corresponding to secondary RNA structures, a pattern seen consistently across segments. In total, we found strong evidence for recombination in nine of eleven rotavirus A segments. Only segments 7 (NSP3) and 11 (NSP5) did not show strong evidence of recombination. Collectively, the results of our computational analyses suggest that, contrary to the prevailing sentiment, recombination may be a significant driver of rotavirus evolution and may influence circulating strain diversity.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Hoxie ◽  
John J. Dennehy

AbstractBecause of their replication mode and segmented dsRNA genome, homologous recombination is assumed to be rare in the rotaviruses. We analyzed 23,627 complete rotavirus genome sequences available in the NCBI Virus Variation database, and found 109 instances of homologous recombination, at least 11 of which prevailed across multiple sequenced isolates. In one case, recombination may have generated a novel rotavirus VP1 lineage. We also found strong evidence for intergenotypic recombination in which more than one sequence strongly supported the same event, particularly between different genotypes of segment 9, which encodes the serotype protein, VP7. The recombined regions of many putative recombinants showed amino acid substitutions differentiating them from their major and minor parents. This finding suggests that these recombination events were not overly deleterious, since presumably these recombinants proliferated long enough to acquire adaptive mutations in their recombined regions. Protein structural predictions indicated that, despite the sometimes substantial amino acid replacements resulting from recombination, the overall protein structures remained relatively unaffected. Notably, recombination junctions appear to occur non-randomly with hot spots corresponding to secondary RNA structures, a pattern seen consistently across segments. In total, we found strong evidence for recombination in nine of eleven rotavirus A segments. Only segment 7 (NSP3) and segment 11 (NSP5) did not show strong evidence of recombination. Collectively, the results of our computational analyses suggest that, contrary to the prevailing sentiment, recombination may be a significant driver of rotavirus evolution and may influence circulating strain diversity.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.D. Neverov ◽  
G.G. Fedonin ◽  
E.A. Cheremukhin ◽  
G.V. Klink ◽  
A.V. Popova ◽  
...  

AbstractThe rate of evolution differs between protein sites and changes with time. However, the link between these two phenomena remains poorly understood. Here, we design a phylogenetic approach for distinguishing pairs of amino acid sites that undergo coordinated evolution, i.e., such that substitutions at one site trigger subsequent substitutions at the other; and also pairs of sites that undergo discordant evolution, so that substitutions at one site impede subsequent substitutions at the other. We distinguish groups of amino acid sites that undergo coordinated evolution and evolve discordantly from other such groups. In mitochondrially encoded proteins of metazoans and fungi, we show that concordantly evolving sites are clustered in protein structures. Moreover, the substitution rates within individual concordant groups themselves change in the course of evolution, and phylogenetic positions of these changes are consistent between proteins, suggesting common selective forces underlying them.Author summaryEvolution in most protein sites is constrained by alleles in other sites, this phenomena is called epistasis. Generally, newly arisen allele, if it would not be lost, increases its fitness with time due to adaptive mutations occurred in other sites in the process called the entrenchment. Thus, we expect that the evolution of sites would be coordinated, such that mutations in sites rapidly follow each other on phylogenetic lineages. Indeed, we have observed such coordinated evolution of sites in five proteins encoded in the mitochondria genomes of metazoan and fungi. Unexpectedly, coordinated evolution is observed only for nearby sites on protein structures, such that each protein could be partitioned into several groups of concordantly evolving sites. Evolution of sites from different groups is discordant, i.e. their mutations repel each other into different phylogenetic lineages or clades. Thus, the proteins encoded in mitochondrial genome consist of the sort of structural blocks like elements of the LEGO kit. Some of them have functional specialization, e.g. some blocks are associated with interfaces between proteins composing respiratory complexes.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allan J. R. Ferrari ◽  
Fabio C. Gozzo ◽  
Leandro Martinez

<div><p>Chemical cross-linking/Mass Spectrometry (XLMS) is an experimental method to obtain distance constraints between amino acid residues, which can be applied to structural modeling of tertiary and quaternary biomolecular structures. These constraints provide, in principle, only upper limits to the distance between amino acid residues along the surface of the biomolecule. In practice, attempts to use of XLMS constraints for tertiary protein structure determination have not been widely successful. This indicates the need of specifically designed strategies for the representation of these constraints within modeling algorithms. Here, a force-field designed to represent XLMS-derived constraints is proposed. The potential energy functions are obtained by computing, in the database of known protein structures, the probability of satisfaction of a topological cross-linking distance as a function of the Euclidean distance between amino acid residues. The force-field can be easily incorporated into current modeling methods and software. In this work, the force-field was implemented within the Rosetta ab initio relax protocol. We show a significant improvement in the quality of the models obtained relative to current strategies for constraint representation. This force-field contributes to the long-desired goal of obtaining the tertiary structures of proteins using XLMS data. Force-field parameters and usage instructions are freely available at http://m3g.iqm.unicamp.br/topolink/xlff <br></p></div><p></p><p></p>


2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 522-528 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianhong Zhou ◽  
Wenying Yan ◽  
Guang Hu ◽  
Bairong Shen

2015 ◽  
Vol 89 (14) ◽  
pp. 7170-7186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurent Chatel-Chaix ◽  
Wolfgang Fischl ◽  
Pietro Scaturro ◽  
Mirko Cortese ◽  
Stephanie Kallis ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTDengue virus (DENV) infection causes the most prevalent arthropod-borne viral disease worldwide. Approved vaccines are not available, and targets suitable for the development of antiviral drugs are lacking. One possible drug target is nonstructural protein 4B (NS4B), because it is absolutely required for virus replication; however, its exact role in the DENV replication cycle is largely unknown. With the aim of mapping NS4B determinants critical for DENV replication, we performed a reverse genetic screening of 33 NS4B mutants in the context of an infectious DENV genome. While the majority of these mutations were lethal, for several of them, we were able to select for second-site pseudoreversions, most often residing in NS4B and restoring replication competence. To identify all viral NS4B interaction partners, we engineered a fully viable DENV genome encoding an affinity-tagged NS4B. Mass spectrometry-based analysis of the NS4B complex isolated from infected cells identified the NS3 protease/helicase as a major interaction partner of NS4B. By combining the genetic complementation map of NS4B with a replication-independent expression system, we identified the NS4B cytosolic loop—more precisely, amino acid residue Q134—as a critical determinant for NS4B-NS3 interaction. An alanine substitution at this site completely abrogated the interaction and DENV RNA replication, and both were restored by pseudoreversions A69S and A137V. This strict correlation between the degree of NS4B-NS3 interaction and DENV replication provides strong evidence that this viral protein complex plays a pivotal role during the DENV replication cycle, hence representing a promising target for novel antiviral strategies.IMPORTANCEWith no approved therapy or vaccine against dengue virus infection, the viral nonstructural protein 4B (NS4B) represents a possible drug target, because it is indispensable for virus replication. However, little is known about its precise structure and function. Here, we established the first comprehensive genetic interaction map of NS4B, identifying amino acid residues that are essential for virus replication, as well as second-site mutations compensating for their defects. Additionally, we determined the NS4B viral interactome in infected cells and identified the NS3 protease/helicase as a major interaction partner of NS4B. We mapped residues in the cytosolic loop of NS4B as critical determinants for interaction with NS3, as well as RNA replication. The strong correlation between NS3-NS4B interaction and RNA replication provides strong evidence that this complex plays a pivotal role in the viral replication cycle, hence representing a promising antiviral drug target.


2004 ◽  
Vol 385 (1) ◽  
pp. 319-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Regina WICHE ◽  
Michaela GUBESCH ◽  
Herbert KÖNIG ◽  
Kay FÖTISCH ◽  
Andreas HOFFMANN ◽  
...  

Birch (Betula verrucosa) pollen-associated food allergy is a well-characterized syndrome, which is due to the cross-reactivity of IgE antibodies to homologous allergens in various foods. One crossreacting area on the major birch pollen allergen Bet v 1 and its homologue in cherry (Prunus avium) Pru av 1 has already been identified. This is the so-called ‘P-loop’ region, which encompasses amino acid residues around position 45 and is found on the two virtually identical tertiary protein structures. We tried to determine an additional IgE cross-reacting patch on Pru av 1 and Bet v 1. The putative IgE-binding region on Pru av 1 was localized with a mAb (monoclonal antibody) that was generated against Bet v 1, and cross-reacts with several Bet v 1 homologues in food and inhibits the binding of patients' IgE to Pru av 1. mAb reactivity pattern was analysed and amino acid positions 28 and 108 of Pru av 1 were selected and mutated by site-directed mutagenesis. The Pru av 1 mutants were produced as recombinant proteins and characterized for their folding, mAb- and IgE-binding capacity and allergenic potency with a cellular assay using the humanized rat basophilic leukaemia cell line RBL-25/30. Amino acid position 28 is involved in a second major IgE-binding region on Pru av 1 and probably on Bet v 1. The identification of this second major IgE-binding region is an essential prerequisite to understand the phenomenon of cross-reactivity and its clinical consequences, and to produce hypoallergenic proteins for an improved immunotherapy of type I allergy.


2018 ◽  
Vol 93 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Junko S. Takeuchi ◽  
Kento Fukano ◽  
Masashi Iwamoto ◽  
Senko Tsukuda ◽  
Ryosuke Suzuki ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTHepatitis B virus (HBV) and its hepadnavirus relatives infect a wide range of vertebrates, from fish to human. Hepadnaviruses and their hosts have a long history of acquiring adaptive mutations. However, there are no reports providing direct molecular evidence for such a coevolutionary “arms race” between hepadnaviruses and their hosts. Here, we present evidence suggesting that the adaptive evolution of the sodium taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (NTCP), an HBV receptor, has been influenced by virus infection. Evolutionary analysis of the NTCP-encoding genes from 20 mammals showed that most NTCP residues are highly conserved among species, exhibiting evolution under negative selection (dN/dSratio [ratio of nonsynonymous to synonymous evolutionary changes] of <1); this observation implies that the evolution of NTCP is restricted by maintaining its original protein function. However, 0.7% of NTCP amino acid residues exhibit rapid evolution under positive selection (dN/dSratio of >1). Notably, a substitution at amino acid (aa) 158, a positively selected residue, converting the human NTCP to a monkey-type sequence abrogated the capacity to support HBV infection; conversely, a substitution at this residue converting the monkey Ntcp to the human sequence was sufficient to confer HBV susceptibility. Together, these observations suggested a close association of the aa 158 positive selection with the pressure by virus infection. Moreover, the aa 158 sequence determined attachment of the HBV envelope protein to the host cell, demonstrating the mechanism whereby HBV infection would create positive selection at this NTCP residue. In summary, we provide the first evidence in agreement with the function of hepadnavirus as a driver for inducing adaptive mutation in host receptor.IMPORTANCEHBV and its hepadnavirus relatives infect a wide range of vertebrates, with a long infectious history (hundreds of millions of years). Such a long history generally allows adaptive mutations in hosts to escape from infection while simultaneously allowing adaptive mutations in viruses to overcome host barriers. However, there is no published molecular evidence for such a coevolutionary arms race between hepadnaviruses and hosts. In the present study, we performed coevolutionary phylogenetic analysis between hepadnaviruses and the sodium taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (NTCP), an HBV receptor, combined with virological experimental assays for investigating the biological significance of NTCP sequence variation. Our data provide the first molecular evidence supporting that HBV-related hepadnaviruses drive adaptive evolution in the NTCP sequence, including a mechanistic explanation of how NTCP mutations determine host viral susceptibility. Our novel insights enhance our understanding of how hepadnaviruses evolved with their hosts, permitting the acquisition of strong species specificity.


PeerJ ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. e3160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kumar Manochitra ◽  
Subhash Chandra Parija

BackgroundAmoebiasis is the third most common parasitic cause of morbidity and mortality, particularly in countries with poor hygienic settings. There exists an ambiguity in the diagnosis of amoebiasis, and hence there arises a necessity for a better diagnostic approach. Serine-richEntamoeba histolyticaprotein (SREHP), peroxiredoxin and Gal/GalNAc lectin are pivotal inE. histolyticavirulence and are extensively studied as diagnostic and vaccine targets. For elucidating the cellular function of these proteins, details regarding their respective quaternary structures are essential. However, studies in this aspect are scant. Hence, this study was carried out to predict the structure of these target proteins and characterize them structurally as well as functionally using appropriatein-silicomethods.MethodsThe amino acid sequences of the proteins were retrieved from National Centre for Biotechnology Information database and aligned using ClustalW. Bioinformatic tools were employed in the secondary structure and tertiary structure prediction. The predicted structure was validated, and final refinement was carried out.ResultsThe protein structures predicted by i-TASSER were found to be more accurate than Phyre2 based on the validation using SAVES server. The prediction suggests SREHP to be an extracellular protein, peroxiredoxin a peripheral membrane protein while Gal/GalNAc lectin was found to be a cell-wall protein. Signal peptides were found in the amino-acid sequences of SREHP and Gal/GalNAc lectin, whereas they were not present in the peroxiredoxin sequence. Gal/GalNAc lectin showed better antigenicity than the other two proteins studied. All the three proteins exhibited similarity in their structures and were mostly composed of loops.DiscussionThe structures of SREHP and peroxiredoxin were predicted successfully, while the structure of Gal/GalNAc lectin could not be predicted as it was a complex protein composed of sub-units. Also, this protein showed less similarity with the available structural homologs. The quaternary structures of SREHP and peroxiredoxin predicted from this study would provide better structural and functional insights into these proteins and may aid in development of newer diagnostic assays or enhancement of the available treatment modalities.


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