RNA recombination at Chikungunya virus 3'UTR as an evolutionary mechanism that provides adaptability.

ABSTRACT: The potential of RNA viruses to adapt to new environments relies on their ability to introduce changes in their genomes, which has resulted in the recent expansion of re-emergent viruses. Chikungunya virus is an important human pathogen transmitted by mosquitoes that, after 60 years of exclusive circulation in Asia and Africa, has rapidly spread in Europe and the Americas. Here, we examined the evolution of CHIKV in different hosts and uncovered host-specific requirements of the CHIKV 3'UTR. Sequence repeats are conserved at the CHIKV 3'UTR but vary in copy number among viral lineages. We found that these blocks of repeated sequences favor RNA recombination processes through copy-choice mechanism that acts concertedly with viral selection, determining the emergence of new viral variants. F

SUBMITTER: Filomatori CV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6502353 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature