Non-Dominant Genotypes (GII, GIV and GV) of Japanese Encephalitis Virus Exhibit an Elevated Evolutionary Rate in Nature.

ABSTRACT: Numerous studies have demonstrated that the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is classified into five genotypes. Historically, JEV GIII and GI were the dominant strains before and after the 1990s, respectively. Recently, the non-dominant genotypes have been implicated in numerous JE outbreaks, posing significant public health challenges. This study conducted a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of 126 JEVs covering five genotypes from 1938 to 2025 globally. Notably, it is the first study to conduct a time to most recent common ancestor (tMRCA) analysis of JEV GII. The findings indicate the common ancestor of JEV emerged approximately 1081 years ago, followed by the sequential evolution of GV, GIII, GI, GII, and GIV, which are estimated to have originated approximately 237, 184, 138, 130,

SUBMITTER: Wang Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12735678 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature