Emerging Infectious Diseases (Dec 2014)

Molecular Evolution of Peste des Petits Ruminants Virus

  • Murali Muniraju,
  • Muhammad Munir,
  • AravindhBabu R. Parthiban,
  • Ashley Banyard,
  • Jingyue Bao,
  • Zhiliang Wang,
  • Chrisostom Ayebazibwe,
  • Gelagay Ayelet,
  • Mehdi El Harrak,
  • Mana Mahapatra,
  • Geneviève Libeau,
  • Carrie Batten,
  • Satya Parida

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2012.140684
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 20, no. 12
pp. 2023 – 2033

Abstract

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Despite safe and efficacious vaccines against peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV), this virus has emerged as the cause of a highly contagious disease with serious economic consequences for small ruminant agriculture across Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. We used complete and partial genome sequences of all 4 lineages of the virus to investigate evolutionary and epidemiologic dynamics of PPRV. A Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of all PPRV lineages mapped the time to most recent common ancestor and initial divergence of PPRV to a lineage III isolate at the beginning of 20th century. A phylogeographic approach estimated the probability for root location of an ancestral PPRV and individual lineages as being Nigeria for PPRV, Senegal for lineage I, Nigeria/Ghana for lineage II, Sudan for lineage III, and India for lineage IV. Substitution rates are critical parameters for understanding virus evolution because restrictions in genetic variation can lead to lower adaptability and pathogenicity.

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