Molecular evolution of GB virus B hepatitis virus during acute resolving and persistent infections in experimentally infected tamarins

Shingo Takikawa, Ronald E Engle, Kristina N Faulk, Suzanne U Emerson, Robert H Purcell, Jens Bukh

19 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

GB virus B (GBV-B) causes acute hepatitis in experimentally infected tamarins. We compared evolutionary features in acute resolving and persistent GBV-B infection. We detected no evidence of evolution in four animals with clearance during weeks 9-12, whereas three animals with clearance during weeks 13-26 had several substitutions in their polyprotein sequence. A single tamarin had long-term GBV-B viraemia; analysis of virus recovered at weeks 2, 5, 12, 20, 26, 52 and 104 demonstrated that mutations accumulated over time. Overall, the amino acid substitution rate was 3.5×10-3 and 1.1×10-3 substitutions per site year-1 during weeks 1-52 and 53-104, respectively. Thus, there was a significant decrease in evolution over time, as found for hepatitis C virus. The rate of non-synonymous substitution per non-synonymous site compared with that of synonymous substitution per synonymous site decreased over time, suggesting reduction of positive selective pressure. These data demonstrate that prolonged GBV-B infection is associated with viral evolution.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of General Virology
Volume91
Issue numberPt 3
Pages (from-to)727-33
Number of pages6
ISSN0022-1317
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2010

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