Phylogenetic and phylodynamic analyses of human metapneumovirus in Buenos Aires (Argentina) for a three-year period (2009-2011)

PLoS One. 2013 Apr 30;8(4):e63070. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0063070. Print 2013.

Abstract

Human metapneumovirus, which belongs to the Paramyxoviridae family and has been classified as a member of the Pneumovirus genus, is genetically and clinically similar to other family members such as human respiratory syncytial virus. A total of 1146 nasopharyngeal aspirates from pediatric patients with moderate and severe acute lower respiratory tract infections, hospitalized at the Ricardo Gutierrez Childreńs Hospital (Buenos Aires, Argentina), were tested by real time RT-PCR for human metapneumovirus. Results showed that 168 (14.65%) were positive. Thirty-six of these 168 samples were randomly selected to characterize positive cases molecularly. The phylogenetic analysis of the sequences of the G and F genes showed that genotypes A2 and B2 cocirculated during 2009 and 2010 and that only genotype A2 circulated in 2011 in Argentina. Genotype A2 prevailed during the study period, a fact supported by a higher effective population size (Neτ) and higher diversity as compared to that of genotype B2 (10.9% (SE 1.3%) vs. 1.7% (SE 0.4%), respectively). The phylogeographic analysis of the G protein gene sequences showed that this virus has no geographical restrictions and can travel globally harbored in hosts. The selection pressure analysis of the F protein showed that although this protein has regions with polymorphisms, it has vast structural and functional constraints. In addition, the predicted B-linear epitopes and the sites recognized by previously described monoclonal antibodies were conserved in all Argentine sequences. This points out this protein as a potential candidate to be the target of future humanized antibodies or vaccines.

Publication types

  • Historical Article
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Argentina / epidemiology
  • Evolution, Molecular
  • History, 21st Century
  • Humans
  • Metapneumovirus / classification*
  • Metapneumovirus / genetics*
  • Metapneumovirus / isolation & purification
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Paramyxoviridae Infections / epidemiology*
  • Paramyxoviridae Infections / history
  • Phylogeny*
  • Phylogeography*
  • Polymorphism, Genetic
  • Respiratory Tract Infections / epidemiology*
  • Respiratory Tract Infections / history
  • Sequence Alignment
  • Viral Proteins / chemistry
  • Viral Proteins / genetics

Substances

  • Viral Proteins

Associated data

  • GENBANK/KC210054
  • GENBANK/KC210055
  • GENBANK/KC210056
  • GENBANK/KC210057
  • GENBANK/KC210058
  • GENBANK/KC210059
  • GENBANK/KC210060
  • GENBANK/KC210061
  • GENBANK/KC210062
  • GENBANK/KC210063
  • GENBANK/KC210064
  • GENBANK/KC210065
  • GENBANK/KC210066
  • GENBANK/KC210067
  • GENBANK/KC210068
  • GENBANK/KC210069
  • GENBANK/KC210070
  • GENBANK/KC210071
  • GENBANK/KC210072
  • GENBANK/KC210073
  • GENBANK/KC210074
  • GENBANK/KC210075
  • GENBANK/KC210076
  • GENBANK/KC210077
  • GENBANK/KC210078
  • GENBANK/KC210079
  • GENBANK/KC210080
  • GENBANK/KC210081
  • GENBANK/KC210082
  • GENBANK/KC210083
  • GENBANK/KC210084
  • GENBANK/KC210085
  • GENBANK/KC210086
  • GENBANK/KC210087
  • GENBANK/KC210088
  • GENBANK/KC210089
  • GENBANK/KC210090
  • GENBANK/KC210091

Grants and funding

This work was supported by ANPCYT, Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Productiva de la Nación, Argentina (grant PICT1624/07). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. No additional external funding was received for this study.