title: Ecology and evolution of rabies virus in Europe.
abstract: The evolution of rabies viruses of predominantly European origin was studied by comparing nucleotide sequences of the nucleoprotein and glycoprotein genes, and by typing isolates using RFLP. Phylogenetic analysis of the gene sequence data revealed a number of distinct groups, each associated with a particular geographical area. Such a pattern suggests that rabies virus has spread westwards and southwards across Europe during this century, but that physical barriers such as the Vistula river in Poland have enabled localized evolution. During this dispersal process, two species jumps took place - one into red foxes and another into raccoon dogs, although it is unclear whether virus strains are preferentially adapted to particular animal species or whether ecological forces explain the occurrence of the phylogenetic groups.
authors.affiliation: Unité de la Rage1 and Laboratoire des Lyssavirus2, Institut Pasteur, 25 rue du Docteur Roux, 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France.
authors.forename: Hervé
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bourhy
authors.affiliation: Unité de la Rage1 and Laboratoire des Lyssavirus2, Institut Pasteur, 25 rue du Docteur Roux, 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France.
authors.forename: Bachir
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kissi
authors.affiliation: Unité de la Rage1 and Laboratoire des Lyssavirus2, Institut Pasteur, 25 rue du Docteur Roux, 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France.
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Audry
authors.affiliation: National Veterinary Research Institute, 24-100 Pulawy, Poland3.
authors.forename: Marcin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Smreczak
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Hygiene, 24 Chocimska Str., 00-791 Warsaw, Poland4.
authors.forename: Malgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sadkowska-Todys
authors.affiliation: National Veterinary and Food Research Institute, PL 368, FIN-00231 Helsinki, Finland5.
authors.forename: Katariina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kulonen
authors.affiliation: Unité de la Rage1 and Laboratoire des Lyssavirus2, Institut Pasteur, 25 rue du Docteur Roux, 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France.
authors.forename: Noël
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tordo
authors.affiliation: National Veterinary Research Institute, 24-100 Pulawy, Poland3.
authors.forename: Jan F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Zmudzinski
authors.affiliation: Wellcome Trust Centre for the Epidemiology of Infectious Disease, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK6.
authors.forename: Edward C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Holmes
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D000956:Antigens, Viral; D002415:Cats; D002417:Cattle; D016208:Databases, Factual; D004285:Dogs; D004463:Ecology; D005060:Europe; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D019251:Nucleocapsid / Q000235:genetics*; D019590:Nucleocapsid Proteins; D010802:Phylogeny; D011820:Rabies virus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D000956:Antigens, Viral; D006023:Glycoproteins; D019590:Nucleocapsid Proteins; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins; C064951:glycoprotein G, Rabies virus; C099601:nucleocapsid protein, Rabies virus