title: Virus fitness differences observed between two naturally occurring isolates of Ebola virus Makona variant using a reverse genetics approach.
abstract: During the large outbreak of Ebola virus disease that occurred in Western Africa from late 2013 to early 2016, several hundred Ebola virus (EBOV) genomes have been sequenced and the virus genetic drift analyzed. In a previous report, we described an efficient reverse genetics system designed to generate recombinant EBOV based on a Makona variant isolate obtained in 2014. Using this system, we characterized the replication and fitness of 2 isolates of the Makona variant. These virus isolates are nearly identical at the genetic level, but have single amino acid differences in the VP30 and L proteins. The potential effects of these differences were tested using minigenomes and recombinant viruses. The results obtained with this approach are consistent with the role of VP30 and L as components of the EBOV RNA replication machinery. Moreover, the 2 isolates exhibited clear fitness differences in competitive growth assays.
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd, Atlanta, GA, USA. Electronic address: calbarino@cdc.gov.
authors.forename: César G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Albariño
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Lisa Wiggleton
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Guerrero
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Ayan K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Chakrabarti
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Markus H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Kainulainen
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Shannon L M
authors.initials: SLM
authors.lastname: Whitmer
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Stephen R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Welch
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Stuart T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Nichol
mesh_terms: D029043:Ebolavirus / Q000502:physiology*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D023061:Gene Order; D056084:Genetic Fitness; D016679:Genome, Viral; D019142:Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / Q000821:virology*; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D059386:Reverse Genetics
keywords: Ebola virus; Makona variant; Recombinant virus; Reverse genetics; West Africa outbreak