Co-Circulation of 72bp Duplication Group A and 60bp Duplication Group B Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Strains in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia during 2014

PLoS One. 2016 Nov 11;11(11):e0166145. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0166145. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is an important viral pathogen of acute respiratory tract infection (ARI). Limited data are available on molecular epidemiology of RSV from Saudi Arabia. A total of 130 nasopharyngeal aspirates were collected from children less than 5 years of age with ARI symptoms attending the Emergency Department at King Khalid University Hospital and King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia between October and December, 2014. RSV was identified in the 26% of the hospitalized children by reverse transcriptase PCR. Group A RSV (77%) predominated during the study as compared to group B RSV (23%). The phylogenetic analysis of 28 study strains clustered group A RSV in NA1 and ON1 genotypes and group B viruses in BA (BA9) genotype. Interestingly, 26% of the positive samples clustered in genotypes with duplication in the G protein gene (ON1 for group A and BA for group B). Both the genotypes showed enhanced O-linked glycosylation in the duplicated region, with 10 and 2 additional sites in ON1 and BA respectively. Selection pressure analysis revealed purifying selection in both the ON1 and BA genotypes. One codon each in the ON1 (position 274) and BA genotypes (position 219) were positively selected and had high entropy values indicating variations at these amino acid positions. This is the first report describing the presence of ON1 genotype and the first report on co-circulation of two different genotypes of RSV with duplication in the G protein gene from Saudi Arabia. The clinical implications of the simultaneous occurrence of genotypes with duplication in G protein gene in a given population especially in the concurrent infections should be investigated in future. Further, the ongoing surveillance of RSV in this region will reveal the evolutionary trajectory of these two genotypes with duplication in G protein gene from largest country in the Middle East.

MeSH terms

  • Child, Preschool
  • DNA, Complementary / chemistry
  • DNA, Complementary / genetics
  • Female
  • Gene Duplication*
  • Genotype
  • Host-Pathogen Interactions
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Male
  • Mutation
  • Phylogeny
  • RNA, Viral / genetics
  • Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections / epidemiology*
  • Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections / virology
  • Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Human / classification
  • Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Human / genetics*
  • Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Human / physiology
  • Respiratory Tract Infections / epidemiology*
  • Respiratory Tract Infections / virology
  • Saudi Arabia / epidemiology
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA
  • Viral Envelope Proteins / classification
  • Viral Envelope Proteins / genetics*

Substances

  • DNA, Complementary
  • RNA, Viral
  • Viral Envelope Proteins
  • attachment protein G

Grants and funding

The project was funded by the National Plan for Science, Technology and Innovation (MAARIFA), King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, URL: http://maarifah.kacst.edu.sa/NSTIPWCPortal/faces/NSTIPHomePage; Award Number 12MED-2886-02, to AA.