Evidence of rotavirus intragenic recombination between two sublineages of the same genotype

Abstract

Rotavirus G4 prevalence increased during the past decade, with one of the highest prevalences reported during rotavirus surveillance in Argentina. Intragenotype diversity analysis has led to its subdivision into lineages (I and II) and sublineages (Ia-Id). On analysis of Argentine and G4 VP7 sequences from other locations, one Argentine strain (ArgRes1723) appeared to be an intermediate between G4 sublineages Ib and Ic. Similarity and bootscanning analyses and Sawyer's test were carried out to demonstrate the recombinant nature of this strain. It was concluded that intragenic recombination occurred between sequences of sublineages Ib and Ic, with a crossover point between nucleotide positions 336 and 387. This study constitutes the first report of a mechanism of evolution in rotaviruses that is currently considered unusual -a recombination event between two strains of the same rotavirus genotype. These results will help increase current knowledge about rotavirus evolution and divergence, improving our understanding of the adaptation mechanisms used by these viruses.

Intragenic Recombination as a Mechanism of Genetic Diversity in Bluetongue Virus

“…In addition, it has been shown that homologous recombination can also play a role in the genetic diversity and evolution of some RNA viruses (24,33) and bring on virulent variants of these viruses at last (8,56). Although homologous recombination has been observed in rotavirus, a member of the Reoviridae (39,40), it is still unknown whether the intragenic recombination can occur and play a role in the generation of genetic diversity in orbivirus populations.…”

G8Rotavirus Strains Isolated in the Democratic Republic of Congo Belong to the DS-1-Like Genogroup

“…After infection of a host cell with two different RVs, theoretically, 2 11 progeny viruses with novel characteristics can arise (57). Other less frequently occurring examples of genetic shifts found in the literature are partial gene duplications and crossover between rotavirus gene segments belonging to different circulating strains (15,40,51).…”

Genomic characterization and molecular investigation of VP7 epitopes of uncommon G10P[8] group A rotavirus strains detected in Italy in 2009

“…The segmented nature of their genome favours reassortment between different RVA strains during coinfections, which may result in a progeny with high genomic diversity. In addition, accumulation of point mutations, due to the high error rate of the viral RNAdependent RNA polymerase, causes further genetic diversity amongst human rotaviruses (Hanada et al, 2004;Parra et al, 2004;Ramig, 1997).…”