Phylogeography of Rotavirus G8P[8] Detected in Argentina: Evidence of Transpacific Dissemination

Abstract

Rotavirus is one of the leading causes of diarrhea in children. In 2018, G8P[8], an unusual association of genotypes, was detected with moderate frequency in symptomatic children in Argen-tina, unlike a previous sporadic identification in 2016. The aim of this study was to analyze the dissemination pattern of the G8P[8]-lineage IV strains detected in Argentina. Nucleotide sequences of the VP7 gene of Argentine G8P[8] strains (2016, 2018 and 2019) were studied by discrete phylodynamic analyses, together with other worldwide relevant G8-lineage IV strains. Bayes Factor (BF) was used to assess the strength of the epidemiological association between countries. Phylodynamic analyses determined an evolutionary rate of 3.7 × 10−3 (HDP95%: 1.4 × 10−3–8.2 × 10−3) substitutions/site/year. Likewise, the most recent common ancestor was 32.2 years old, dating back to 1986 (HDP95% = 1984–1988). The spatiotemporal dynamics analysis revealed South Korea as being the country of origin of the Argentine strains (posterior probability of the ancestral state: 0.8471), which was also evidenced by a significant rate of diffusion from South Korea to Argentina (BF: 55.1). The detection of G8 in South America in 2016–2017 was not related to the cases detected in 2018–2019, revealing a new G8 introduction to the region and supporting a transpacific dissemination.

Genomic Constellation of Human Rotavirus G8 Strains in Brazil over a 13-Year Period: Detection of the Novel Bovine-like G8P[8] Strains with the DS-1-like Backbone

“…Atypical reassorted bovine-like G8P[8] strains with the DS-1-like backbone emerged during the 2013/2014 seasons in Southeast Asia [ 17 , 49 , 50 , 76 ], spreading to Europe and South America. They were also recently reported in the Czech Republic (2016–2018) [ 15 ] and Argentina (2018) [ 51 , 77 ]. Of the two Brazilian bovine-like G8P[8] strains with the DS-1-like backbone reported here, one (IAL-R193/2017) was acquired by a 7-month-old male patient in the city of Goiânia, Midwestern region.…”

“…These data indicate that the bovine-like G8P[8] DS-1-like strains have circulated in different Brazilian regions at the same time. Moreover, based on timeline detection data, it could be speculated that atypical bovine-like G8P[8] strains with the DS-1-like backbone reached the South America through Brazil (2017), then disseminated to other nations such as Argentina (2018) [ 51 , 77 ]. The route of bovine-like G8P[8] strains with the DS-1-like backbone spreading across the globe is tricky to be recognized, but globalization is probably the key point of RVA strain traffic from one continent to another [ 15 ].…”

Evolution of DS-1-like G8P[8] rotavirus A strains from Vietnamese children with acute gastroenteritis (2014–21): Adaptation and loss of animal rotavirus-derived genes during human-to-human spread

“…To provide a detailed, time-resolved view of viral evolutionary dynamics, BEAST analysis on the G8 lineage IV VP7 genes primarily of Vietnamese origin was further incorporated. The mean evolutionary rate of the G8 lineage IV VP7 genes was calculated to be 2.3 × 10 –3 substitutions per site per year with the 95 per cent highest posterior density interval being 1.6 × 10 −3 –3.3 × 10 –3 , which is in good agreement with yet narrower than that reported by Degiuseppe et al. (2022) .…”

“…In this context, the detection of the bovine-like G8 strains, which were speculated to have jumped into humans between 2009 and 2012 ( Fig. 4 ; Degiuseppe et al. 2022 ) in Vietnam at an early phase of emergence provided a unique opportunity to monitor the evolutionary changes that the ancestral animal strain having jumped to humans would undergo.…”

“…Bayesian Evolutionary Analysis by Sampling Trees (BEAST) was conducted using BEAST v1.10.4 ( Drummond et al. 2012 ) according to the guidance described by Degiuseppe et al. (2022) .…”