Open Access
Homologous recombination is a force in the evolution of canine distemper virus
Author(s) -
Chaowen Yuan,
Wenxin Liu,
Yingbo Wang,
Jin-Long Hou,
Liguo Zhang,
Guoqing Wang
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0175416
Subject(s) - canine distemper , biology , genetics , viral evolution , genome , virus , homologous recombination , phylogenetic tree , virology , reassortment , recombination , gene , covid-19 , medicine , disease , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Canine distemper virus (CDV) is the causative agent of canine distemper (CD) that is a highly contagious, lethal, multisystemic viral disease of receptive carnivores. The prevalence of CDV is a major concern in susceptible animals. Presently, it is unclear whether intragenic recombination can contribute to gene mutations and segment reassortment in the virus. In this study, 25 full-length CDV genome sequences were subjected to phylogenetic and recombinational analyses. The results of phylogenetic analysis, intragenic recombination, and nucleotide selection pressure indicated that mutation and recombination occurred in the six individual genes segment (H, F, P, N, L, M) of the CDV genome. The analysis also revealed pronounced genetic diversity in the CDV genome according to the geographically distinct lineages (genotypes), namely Asia-1, Asia-2, Asia-3, Europe, America-1, and America-2. The six recombination events were detected using SimPlot and RDP programs. The analysis of selection pressure demonstrated that a majority of the nucleotides in the CDV individual gene were under negative selection. Collectively, these data suggested that homologous recombination acts as a key force driving the genetic diversity and evolution of canine distemper virus.