U exon variability as a discriminatory tool for Bayesian analysis of adenoviruses.
Members of the family Adenoviridae are divided into five genera and infect a wide variety of vertebrates with a narrow host range, usually restricted to one species. Due to the high genetic diversity and distinct genomic organization, classification of adenoviruses is difficult to achieve and often performed by phylogenetic analysis. The most commonly used region for phylogenetic inference of adenoviruses is the DNA polymerase (AdPol) gene carried out at amino acid level. In this paper we investigated the suitability of the U exon to discriminate adenoviruses. The tree based on this genus-common feature, obtained with 23 short amino acid sequences, offered a clearest discrimination of the members of the adenovirus family (Adenoviridae) than the trees generated with the complete or partial polymerase protein sequences. Therefore, our results demonstrate that the U exon is an effective tool for a refined phylogenetic inference and genus classification of the Adenoviridae family.
Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária, Laboratório de Virologia, Lisboa, Portugal.
Ana M
AM
Henriques
Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária, Laboratório de Virologia, Lisboa, Portugal.
Miguel
M
Fevereiro
Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária, Laboratório de Virologia, Lisboa, Portugal.
Teresa
T
Fagulha
Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária, Laboratório de Virologia, Lisboa, Portugal.
Fernanda
F
Ramos
Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária, Laboratório de Virologia, Lisboa, Portugal.
Sílvia C
SC
Barros
Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária, Laboratório de Virologia, Lisboa, Portugal.
Tiago
T
Luís
Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária, Laboratório de Virologia, Lisboa, Portugal. Electronic address: margarida.duarte@iniav.pt.
Margarida
M
Duarte
D000256:Adenoviridae / Q000145:classification* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D004259:DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase / Q000235:genetics*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005091:Exons; D014644:Genetic Variation; D010802:Phylogeny; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics*
D004279:DNA, Viral; D014764:Viral Proteins; D004259:DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase
AdPol; Adenovirus; Bayesian analysis; DNA polymerase; Phylogenetic analysis; U-exon