Genotypes and Phylogenetic Analysis of Human Adenovirus in Hospitalized Pneumonia and Influenza-Like Illness Patients in Jiangsu Province, China (2013-2021)

Abstract

Shenjiao Wang,1,2,* Xin Zou,3– 5,* Jianguang Fu,1 Fei Deng,1 Huiyan Yu,1 Huan Fan,1 Qigang Dai,1 Qingxiang Shang,5 Ke Xu,1 Changjun Bao1,5 1Acute Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Institute, Jiangsu Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Jiangsu Provincial Academy of Preventive Medicine), Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, People’s Republic of China; 2Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Ili, Xinjiang, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Infectious Diseases, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University (Army Medical University), Chongqing, People’s Republic of China; 4Chongqing Key Laboratory of Viral Infectious Diseases, Chongqing, People’s Republic of China; 5School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Ke Xu; Changjun Bao, Acute Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Institute, Jiangsu Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Jiangsu Provincial Academy of Preventive Medicine), No. 172, Jiangsu Road, Gulou District, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, 210009, People’s Republic of China, Tel [phone], Email [email protected]; [email protected]: Human adenovirus (HAdV) is common pathogens that cause various respiratory diseases. The genetic diversity of viruses caused by recombination is considered to be the main source of emerging outbreaks. The aim of this study is to explore the evolutionary relationship and recombination events of HAdV genome in respiratory tract infections in Jiangsu Province.Methods: Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) technology was used to sequence 66 patients with HAdV infection (37 patients with influenza-like illness (ILI) and 29 hospitalized patients with pneumonia) from Jiangsu Province. Epidemiological analysis was performed on hospitalized pneumonia and ILI patients infected with HAdV. Subsequently, phylogenetic, recombination, and nucleotide and amino acid identity analyses were performed.Results: Epidemiological analysis of patients undergoing WGS showed that 75.7% of ILI patients were infected with the HAdVB strain and 69.0% of hospitalized pneumonia patients were infected with the HAdVC strain. Moreover, the hospitalized pneumonia and ILI patients infected with HAdV were different in region and time. The strains of HAdVB3 and HAdVB7 genotypes were mainly infected in 2015 and 2017, and the strains of HAdVC1 and HAdVC2 genotypes were mainly infected in 2020. The results of histogram analysis showed that the HAdV strain mainly infected children under 5 years old. In addition, 36 novel recombinant strains were identified. The discovery of these recombinant strains may contribute to understanding the epidemiology of HAdV and research on related vaccines. Furthermore, the percentage of nucleotide and amino acid identities revealed a high level of genetic conservation within isolates from HAdVB3, HAdVB7, HAdVC1, HAdVC2 and HAdVC5 genotypes.Conclusion: The WGS analysis reveals the evolutionary relationships and recombination events of HAdV strains in Jiangsu Province, which is helpful to deepen the understanding of HAdV epidemiology and evolution. In addition, it provides a basis for the formulation of public health strategies in Jiangsu Province.Keywords: human adenovirus, whole genome sequencing, phylogenetic analysis, recombination

Keywords

• human adenovirus
• whole genome sequencing
• phylogenetic analysis
• recombination