The Global Phylogeography of Lyssaviruses - Challenging the 'Out of Africa' Hypothesis.

ABSTRACT: Rabies virus kills tens of thousands of people globally each year, especially in resource-limited countries. Yet, there are genetically- and antigenically-related lyssaviruses, all capable of causing the disease rabies, circulating globally among bats without causing conspicuous disease outbreaks. The species richness and greater genetic diversity of African lyssaviruses, along with the lack of antibody cross-reactivity among them, has led to the hypothesis that Africa is the origin of lyssaviruses. This hypothesis was tested using a probabilistic phylogeographical approach. The nucleoprotein gene sequences from 153 representatives of 16 lyssavirus species, collected between 1956 and 2015, were used to develop a phylogenetic tree which incorporated relevant geographic and temporal data rel

SUBMITTER: Hayman DT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5231386 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature