Estimation of main diversification time-points of hantaviruses using phylogenetic analyses of complete genomes.
Because of the great variability of their reservoir hosts, hantaviruses are excellent models to evaluate the dynamics of virus-host co-evolution. Intriguing questions remain about the timescale of the diversification events that influenced this evolution. In this paper we attempted to estimate the first ever timing of hantavirus diversification based on thirty five available complete genomes representing five major groups of hantaviruses and the assumption of co-speciation of hantaviruses with their respective mammal hosts. Phylogenetic analyses were used to estimate the main diversification points during hantavirus evolution in mammals while host diversification was mostly estimated from independent calibrators taken from fossil records. Our results support an earlier developed hypothesis of co-speciation of known hantaviruses with their respective mammal hosts and hence a common ancestor for all hantaviruses carried by placental mammals.
INRA-UMR 1062 CBGP, 755 Avenue Campus Agropolis, CS30016, 34988 Montferrier sur Lez, France. Electronic address: guillaume.castel@supagro.inra.fr.
Guillaume
G
Castel
Unit Antiviral Strategies, Institut Pasteur, 25 Rue du Dr Roux, 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France; Institut Pasteur de Guinée, Gamal Abdel Nasser University, Conakry, Guinea. Electronic address: ntordo@pasteur.fr.
Noël
N
Tordo
Department of Virology, University of Helsinki, Finland. Electronic address: Alexander.Plyusnin@Helsinki.Fi.
Alexander
A
Plyusnin
D000818:Animals; D003411:Arvicolinae / Q000821:virology; D000073930:Biological Coevolution; D009033:Culicidae / Q000821:virology; D005580:Fossils / Q000821:virology; D049810:Genetic Speciation; D016679:Genome, Viral; D006476:Orthohantavirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D018778:Hantavirus Infections; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D051189:Murinae / Q000821:virology; D010802:Phylogeny; D016205:Sigmodontinae / Q000821:virology; D013997:Time Factors
Co-speciation; Diversification; Hantavirus; Phylogeny