title: Molecular Evolution and Genetic Analysis of the Major Capsid Protein VP1 of Duck Hepatitis A Viruses: Implications for Antigenic Stability.
abstract: The duck hepatitis A virus (DHAV), a member of the family Picornaviridae, is the major cause of outbreaks with high mortality rates in young ducklings. It has three distinctive serotypes and among them, serotypes 1 (DHAV-1) and 3 (DHAV-3) were recognized in China. To investigate evolutionary and antigenic properties of the major capsid protein VP1 of these two serotypes, a primary target of neutralizing antibodies, we determined the VP1 coding sequences of 19 DHAV-1 (spanning 2000-2012) and 11 DHAV-3 isolates (spanning 2008-2014) associated with disease outbreaks. By bioinformatics analysis of VP1 sequences of these isolates and other DHAV strains reported previously, we demonstrated that DHAV-1 viruses evolved into two genetic lineages, while DHAV-3 viruses exhibited three distinct lineages. The rate of nucleotide substitution for DHAV-1 VP1 genes was estimated to be 5.57 x 10(-4) per site per year, which was about one-third times slower than that for DHAV-3 VP1 genes. The population dynamics analysis showed an upward trend for infection of DHAV-1 viruses over time with little change observed for DHAV-3 viruses. Antigenic study of representative DHAV-1 and DHAV-3 strains covering all observed major lineages revealed no detectable changes in viral neutralization properties within the serotype, despite the lack of cross-neutralization between serotypes 1 and 3 strains. Structural analysis identified VP1 mutations in DHAV-1 and DHAV-3 viruses that underpin the observed antigenic phenotypes. Results of our experiments described here shall give novel insights into evolution and antigenicity of duck picornaviruses.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Poultry Science, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 1 Jiaoxiao road, Jinan, Shandong, 250023, China.
authors.forename: Xiuli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, United States of America.
authors.forename: Zizhang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Sheng
authors.affiliation: Institute of Poultry Science, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 1 Jiaoxiao road, Jinan, Shandong, 250023, China; Department of Biology and Microbiology, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD, 57007, United States of America; Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD, 57007, United States of America.
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Poultry Science, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 1 Jiaoxiao road, Jinan, Shandong, 250023, China.
authors.forename: Lihong
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Poultry Science, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 1 Jiaoxiao road, Jinan, Shandong, 250023, China.
authors.forename: Yufeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Institute of Poultry Science, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 1 Jiaoxiao road, Jinan, Shandong, 250023, China.
authors.forename: Kexiang
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Poultry Science, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 1 Jiaoxiao road, Jinan, Shandong, 250023, China.
authors.forename: Cunxia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Poultry Science, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 1 Jiaoxiao road, Jinan, Shandong, 250023, China.
authors.forename: Zhuoming
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Microbiology, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD, 57007, United States of America.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Poultry Science, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 1 Jiaoxiao road, Jinan, Shandong, 250023, China.
authors.forename: Minxun
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Institute of Poultry Science, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 1 Jiaoxiao road, Jinan, Shandong, 250023, China; Department of Biology and Microbiology, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD, 57007, United States of America; Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD, 57007, United States of America.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing / Q000276:immunology; D036022:Capsid Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D002681:China; D004372:Ducks; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005820:Genetic Testing; D006506:Hepatitis A / Q000821:virology; D030041:Hepatitis A virus / Q000235:genetics*; D004371:Hepatitis Virus, Duck / Q000235:genetics*; D006524:Hepatitis, Viral, Animal / Q000821:virology; D010802:Phylogeny; D010849:Picornaviridae / Q000235:genetics; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000821:virology; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D015678:Viral Structural Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing; D036022:Capsid Proteins; C096539:VP1 protein, hepatitis A virus; D015678:Viral Structural Proteins