Origin and phylodynamics of rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus.

ABSTRACT: To determine the origin, phylogenetic relationships, and evolutionary dynamics of rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV), we examined 210 partial and complete capsid gene nucleotide sequences. Using a Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo approach, we estimated that these sequences evolved at a rate of 3.9 x 10(-4) to 11.9 x 10(-4) nucleotide substitutions per site per year. This rate was consistent across subsets of data, was robust in response to recombination, and casts doubt on the provenance of viral strains isolated from the 1950s to the 1970s, which share strong sequence similarity to modern isolates. Using the same analysis, we inferred that the time to the most recent common ancestor for a joint group of RHDV and rabbit calicivirus sequences was <550 years ago and was <150 years ago

SUBMITTER: Kerr PJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2786765 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature