Rapid sequence change and geographical spread of human parvovirus B19: comparison of B19 virus evolution in acute and persistent infections.

ABSTRACT: Parvovirus B19 is a common human pathogen maintained by horizontal transmission between acutely infected individuals. However, B19 virus can also be detected in tissues throughout the life of the host, although little is understood about the nature of such persistence. In the current study, we created large VP1/2 sequence data sets of plasma- and tissue (autopsy)-derived variants of B19 virus with known sample dates to compare the rates of sequence change in exogenous virus populations with those in persistently infected individuals. By using linear regression and likelihood-based methods (such as the BEAST program), we found that plasma-derived B19 virus showed a substitution rate of 4 x 10(-4) and an unconstrained (synonymous)-substitution rate of 18 x 10(-4) per site per year, several t

SUBMITTER: Norja P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2447064 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature