title: Identification of Asian genotype of chikungunya virus isolated in Mexico.
abstract: We identified 25 autochthonous chikungunya virus cases in Mexico, initially detected by RT-PCR targeting the E1 gene and propagated in C6/36 Aedes albopictus cells, in 2014. To determine the type of virus found, in a previous report, the genomes of 2 CHIKV strains were fully sequenced. Genome sequence analysis revealed that these isolates from Mexico belonged to the Asian genotype, and a phylogenetic association with the circulating strain in the British Virgin Islands was also established in the same year. This was further supported by changes in specific amino acids, E2-V368A and 6K-L20M. For these reasons, it can be inferred that the route of virus entry to Mexico was held across the countries in the Caribbean and Central America. The presence of E1-A226V mutation associated with more efficient replication in the salivary gland of the A. albopictus mosquito was not observed. Interestingly, a newly acquired NSP4-S399C mutation was observed; however, the significance of changes in amino acid found in non-structural proteins in autochthonous strains remains to be elucidated.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Diagnóstico y Referencia Epidemiológicos "Dr. Manuel Martínez Báez", Francisco de P. Miranda 177, Col. Lomas de Plateros, Del. Alvaro Obregón, 01480, Mexico City, Mexico. alberto.diaz@salud.gob.mx.|Facultad de Medicina Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico. alberto.diaz@salud.gob.mx.
authors.forename: José Alberto
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Díaz-Quiñonez
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Diagnóstico y Referencia Epidemiológicos "Dr. Manuel Martínez Báez", Francisco de P. Miranda 177, Col. Lomas de Plateros, Del. Alvaro Obregón, 01480, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Noé
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Escobar-Escamilla
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Diagnóstico y Referencia Epidemiológicos "Dr. Manuel Martínez Báez", Francisco de P. Miranda 177, Col. Lomas de Plateros, Del. Alvaro Obregón, 01480, Mexico City, Mexico.|Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ortíz-Alcántara
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Diagnóstico y Referencia Epidemiológicos "Dr. Manuel Martínez Báez", Francisco de P. Miranda 177, Col. Lomas de Plateros, Del. Alvaro Obregón, 01480, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Mauricio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vázquez-Pichardo
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Diagnóstico y Referencia Epidemiológicos "Dr. Manuel Martínez Báez", Francisco de P. Miranda 177, Col. Lomas de Plateros, Del. Alvaro Obregón, 01480, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: María
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de la Luz Torres-Rodríguez
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Diagnóstico y Referencia Epidemiológicos "Dr. Manuel Martínez Báez", Francisco de P. Miranda 177, Col. Lomas de Plateros, Del. Alvaro Obregón, 01480, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Alma
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nuñez-León
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Diagnóstico y Referencia Epidemiológicos "Dr. Manuel Martínez Báez", Francisco de P. Miranda 177, Col. Lomas de Plateros, Del. Alvaro Obregón, 01480, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Belem
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Torres-Longoria
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Diagnóstico y Referencia Epidemiológicos "Dr. Manuel Martínez Báez", Francisco de P. Miranda 177, Col. Lomas de Plateros, Del. Alvaro Obregón, 01480, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Irma
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: López-Martínez
authors.affiliation: Dirección General de Epidemiología, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Cuitláhuac
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ruiz-Matus
authors.affiliation: Subsecretaría de Prevención y Promoción de la Salud, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kuri-Morales
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Diagnóstico y Referencia Epidemiológicos "Dr. Manuel Martínez Báez", Francisco de P. Miranda 177, Col. Lomas de Plateros, Del. Alvaro Obregón, 01480, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: José Ernesto
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Ramírez-González
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001208:Asia; D065632:Chikungunya Fever / Q000821:virology*; D002646:Chikungunya virus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016679:Genome, Viral; D005838:Genotype; D008800:Mexico; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D013045:Species Specificity
keywords: Chikungunya virus; Methagenomics; Mexico; Phylogeny