Molecular evolution of the capsid (VP1) region in human norovirus genogroup II genotype 3
Mariko Saito,
Hiroyuki Tsukagoshi,
Hirotaka Ishigaki,
Jumpei Aso,
Haruyuki Ishii,
Kaori Okayama,
Akihide Ryo,
Taisei Ishioka,
Makoto Kuroda,
Nobuhiro Saruki,
Kazuhiko Katayama,
Hirokazu Kimura
Affiliations
Mariko Saito
Gunma Prefectural Institute of Public Health and Environmental Sciences, 378 Kamioki-machi, Maebashi-shi, Gunma 371-0052, Japan
Hiroyuki Tsukagoshi
Gunma Prefectural Institute of Public Health and Environmental Sciences, 378 Kamioki-machi, Maebashi-shi, Gunma 371-0052, Japan
Hirotaka Ishigaki
Department of Health Science, Gunma Paz University Graduate School of Health Sciences, 1-7-1 Tonyamachi, Takasaki-shi, Gunma 370-0006, Japan
Jumpei Aso
Department of Health Science, Gunma Paz University Graduate School of Health Sciences, 1-7-1 Tonyamachi, Takasaki-shi, Gunma 370-0006, Japan; Kyorin University Hospital, 6-20-2 Shinkawa, Mitaka-shi, Tokyo 181-8611, Japan
Haruyuki Ishii
Kyorin University Hospital, 6-20-2 Shinkawa, Mitaka-shi, Tokyo 181-8611, Japan
Kaori Okayama
Department of Health Science, Gunma Paz University Graduate School of Health Sciences, 1-7-1 Tonyamachi, Takasaki-shi, Gunma 370-0006, Japan
Akihide Ryo
Department of Microbiology, Yokohama City University School of Medicine, 3-9 Fukuura, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa 236-0004, Japan
Taisei Ishioka
Department of Health Science, Gunma Paz University Graduate School of Health Sciences, 1-7-1 Tonyamachi, Takasaki-shi, Gunma 370-0006, Japan
Makoto Kuroda
Pathogen Genomics Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, 1-23-1 Toyama, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan
Nobuhiro Saruki
Gunma Prefectural Institute of Public Health and Environmental Sciences, 378 Kamioki-machi, Maebashi-shi, Gunma 371-0052, Japan
Kazuhiko Katayama
Laboratory of Viral Infection I, Kitasato Institute for Life Sciences Graduate School of Infection Control Sciences, Kitasato University, 5-9-1 Shirokane, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8641, Japan
Hirokazu Kimura
Department of Health Science, Gunma Paz University Graduate School of Health Sciences, 1-7-1 Tonyamachi, Takasaki-shi, Gunma 370-0006, Japan; Department of Microbiology, Yokohama City University School of Medicine, 3-9 Fukuura, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa 236-0004, Japan; Corresponding author.
Norovirus GII.3 has been suggested to be a prevalent genotype in patients with acute gastroenteritis. However, the genetic properties of the VP1 region encoding the major GII.3 antigen remain unclear. Here, we performed molecular evolutionary analyses of the GII.3 VP1 region detected in various countries. We performed time-scaled phylogenetic analyses, selective pressure analyses, phylogenetic distance analyses, and conformational epitope analyses. The time-scaled phylogenetic tree showed that an ancestor of the GII.3 VP1 region diverged from the common ancestors of the GII.6, GII.11, GII.18, and GII.19 approximately 70 years ago with relatively low divergence. The evolutionary rate of the GII.3 VP1 region was rapid (4.82 × 10−3 substitutions/site/year). Furthermore, one positive site and many negative selection sites were observed in the capsid protein. These results suggest that the GII.3 VP1 region rapidly evolved with antigenic variations.
