Zika virus has recently been associated with neuropathology. We analyzed viral genetic sequence data sets to reconstruct how Zika spread from Africa to Asia, ...
Zika Virus, where have we been and where are we going? 1*
Daniel Janies , Adriano de Bernardi Schneider, Lambodhar Damodaran, Zachary Witter, Ari Whiteman
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Department of Bioinformatics and Genomics, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, North Carolina, USA * Presenting Author
Zika virus has recently been associated with neuropathology. We analyzed viral genetic sequence data sets to reconstruct how Zika spread from Africa to Asia, across the Pacific, and the Americas. First Zika spread from Africa to Asia where it persists, especially in South East Asia. The Asian clade next spread across the Pacific to the Americas where Zika has been endemic since at least 2014. Thus we see two parallel epidemics - Asia and the Americas - rather than a linear progression around the equator (Schneider et al., 2016 Cladistics 10.1111/cla.12178). We also identified key mutations that occurred on the 5’ and 3’ untranslated regions (UTR) as Zika spread from the Pacific to the Americas (Schneider et al., 2016). We identified for the first time the presence of a Musashi Binding Element (MBE) in the 3’ UTR of the Zika genome. The MBE and two adjacent mutations in Zika isolates from the Asia-Pacific-Americas lineage confer a higher binding affinity to human Musashi protein. Musashi is an important translational regulator in stem cells, highly expressed in neural progenitors of human embryonic brain. Our working hypothesis is that Musashi could be related to viral replication in neural cells - which was later demonstrated (Chavali et al, 2017 Science 10.1126/science.aam9243). Novel mutations in the Asian-Pacific-Americas lineage of Zika virus adjacent to MBE remain to be evaluated for their role in vector use or tissue tropism. Closer to home, the states of Florida and Texas have reported cases of Zika infection in resident humans who have not traveled. There is also evidence these cases were vectored by local mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti; Likos et al., Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 10.15585/mmwr.mm6538e1). In Mecklenburg County North Carolina, we have historical records of Aedes aegypti. In the summer of 2017, we have not yet encountered any Aedes aegypti in our monitoring of 90 field sites selected to represent geographic and socioeconomic diversity in the county. We do recover several potential vectors of viral diseases (e.g. other species of Aedes and Culex). Implications of these data for risk assessment will be discussed.
