Dataset Information

The Evolution and Transmission of Epidemic GII.17 Noroviruses.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:In recent decades, the GII.4 norovirus genotype has predominated in epidemics worldwide and been associated with an increased rate of evolutionary change. In 2014, a novel GII.17 variant emerged and persisted, causing large outbreaks of gastroenteritis in China and sporadic infections globally. The origin, evolution, and transmission history of this new variant are largely unknown. METHODS:We generated 103 full capsid and 8 whole-genome sequences of GII.17 strains collected between August 2013 and November 2015 in Guangdong, China. Phylogenetic analyses were performed by integrating our data with those for all publically available GII.17 sequences. RESULTS:The novel emergent lineage GII.17_Kawasaki_2014 most likely originated from Africa around 2001 and evolved at a rate of 5.6 × 10(-3) substitutions/site/year. Within this lineage, a new variant containing several important amino acid changes emerged around August 2013 and caused extensive epidemics in 2014-2015. The phylodynamic and epidemic history of the GII.17_Kawasaki lineage shows similarities with the pattern observed for GII.4 norovirus evolution. Virus movements from Hong Kong to neighboring coastal cities were frequently observed. CONCLUSIONS:Our results provide new insights into GII.17 norovirus evolution and transmission and highlight the potential for a rare norovirus genotype to rapidly replace existing strains and cause local epidemics.

SUBMITTER: Lu J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4957445 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The Evolution and Transmission of Epidemic GII.17 Noroviruses.

Lu Jing J Fang Lin L Zheng Huanying H Lao Jiaqian J Yang Fen F Sun Limei L Xiao Jianpeng J Lin Jinyan J Song Tie T Ni Tao T Raghwani Jayna J Ke Changwen C Faria Nuno R NR Bowden Thomas A TA Pybus Oliver G OG Li Hui H

The Journal of infectious diseases 20160524 4

<h4>Background</h4>In recent decades, the GII.4 norovirus genotype has predominated in epidemics worldwide and been associated with an increased rate of evolutionary change. In 2014, a novel GII.17 variant emerged and persisted, causing large outbreaks of gastroenteritis in China and sporadic infections globally. The origin, evolution, and transmission history of this new variant are largely unknown.<h4>Methods</h4>We generated 103 full capsid and 8 whole-genome sequences of GII.17 strains colle ...[more]

PMID: 27354370

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Project description:Noroviruses are the major cause of foodborne outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis, which are often linked to raw oyster consumption. Previous studies have suggested histo-blood group antigens (HBGA)-like structures in the oyster tissues as ligands for norovirus binding and persistence. To better understand how oysters function as vectors for the most common human noroviruses, we first tested the ability of the norovirus strains GI.1 West Chester, the pandemic GII.4 Sydney, and the epidemic GII.17 Kawasaki308 strains to interact with oyster tissues. Secondly, we explored how the HBGA preferences of these strains can affect their persistence in oyster tissues. We found limited HBGA expression in oyster tissues. HBGAs of A and H type 1 were present in the digestive tissues and palps of the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas, while the gills and mantle lacked any HBGA structures. By using Virus-like particles (VLPs), which are antigenically and morphologically similar to native virions, we were able to demonstrate that VLPs of GI.1 West Chester norovirus reacted with the digestive tissues and palps. Despite of the lack of HBGA expression in mantle, dominant GII.4 Sydney strain readily bound to all the oyster tissues, including the digestive tissues, gills, palps, and mantle. In contrast, no binding of the epidemic GII.17 Kawasaki308 VLPs to any of the investigated oyster tissues was observed. In synthetic HBGA and saliva-binding assays, GI.1 reacted with A type, H type, and Leb (Lewis b) HBGAs. GII.4 Sydney VLPs showed a broad binding pattern and interacted with various HBGA types. Compared to GI.1 and GII.4 VLPs, the GII.17 Kawasaki308 VLPs only weakly associated with long-chain saccharides containing A type, B type, H type, and Leb blood group epitopes. Our findings indicate that GI.1 and GII.4 noroviruses are likely to be concentrated in oysters, by binding to HBGA-like glycans, and therefore potentially leading to increased long term transmission. In regards to the GII.17 Kawasaki308 strain, we suggest that oysters can only function as short term transmission vector in periods of high environmental virus concentrations.

Project description:UnlabelledGenogroup II, genotype 4 (GII.4) noroviruses are known to rapidly evolve, with the emergence of a new primary strain every 2 to 4 years as herd immunity to the previously circulating strain is overcome. Because viral genetic diversity is higher in chronic than in acute infection, chronically infected immunocompromised people have been hypothesized to be a potential source for new epidemic GII.4 strains. However, while some capsid protein residues are under positive selection and undergo patterned changes in sequence variation over time, the relationships between genetic variation and antigenic variation remains unknown. Based on previously published GII.4 strains from a chronically infected individual, we synthetically reconstructed virus-like particles (VLPs) representing early and late isolates from a small-bowel transplant patient chronically infected with norovirus, as well as the parental GII.4-2006b strain. We demonstrate that intrahost GII.4 evolution results in the emergence of antigenically distinct strains over time, comparable to the variation noted between the chronologically predominant GII.4 strains GII.4-2006b and GII.4-2009. Our data suggest that in some individuals the evolution that occurs during a chronic norovirus infection overlaps with changing antigenic epitopes that are associated with successive outbreak strains and may select for isolates that are potentially able to escape herd immunity from earlier isolates.ImportanceNoroviruses are agents of gastrointestinal illness, infecting an estimated 21 million people per year in the United States alone. In healthy individuals, symptomatic infection typically resolves within 24 to 48 h. However, symptoms may persist for years in immunocompromised individuals, and development of successful treatments for these patients is a continuing challenge. This work is relevant to the design of successful norovirus therapeutics for chronically infected patients; provides support for previous assertions that chronically infected individuals may serve as reservoirs for new, antigenically unique emergent strains; and furthers our understanding of genogroup II, genotype 4 (GII.4) norovirus immune-driven molecular evolution.

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Dataset Information

The Evolution and Transmission of Epidemic GII.17 Noroviruses.

Publications

The Evolution and Transmission of Epidemic GII.17 Noroviruses.

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