Molecular Evolution of the Protease Region in Norovirus Genogroup II.

ABSTRACT: Noroviruses are a major cause of viral epidemic gastroenteritis in humans worldwide. The protease (Pro) encoded in open reading frame 1 (ORF1) is an essential enzyme for proteolysis of the viral polyprotein. Although there are some reports regarding the evolutionary analysis of norovirus GII-encoding genes, there are few reports focused on the Pro region. We analyzed the molecular evolution of the Pro region of norovirus GII using bioinformatics approaches. A time-scaled phylogenetic tree of the Pro region constructed using a Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo method indicated that the common ancestor of GII diverged from GIV around 1680 CE [95% highest posterior density (HPD), 1607-1749]. The GII Pro region emerged around 1752 CE (95%HPD, 1707-1794), forming thr

SUBMITTER: Ozaki K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6971112 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature