Epidemiology of influenza C virus in man: Multiple evolutionary lineages and low rate of change

Deborah A. Buonagurio, Susumu Nakada, Walter M. Fitch, Peter Palese

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

81 Scopus citations

Abstract

The nucleotide sequences of nonstructural protein (NS) genes of human influenza C viruses isolated between 1947 and 1983 were determined and compared. Assuming constant evolutionary rates, the extent of nucleotide differences among NS genes does not correspond to the isolation years of the strains. This suggests that more than one gene lineage is present in the population. Furthermore, examination of the eight C virus NS gene sequences by the maximum parsimony method (W. M. Fitch, 1971, Syst. Zool. 20, 406-416) yielded phylogenetic trees that were grossly different from those obtained using the hemagglutinin genes for the same eight isolates. This result is compatible with the idea of reassortment of genes in nature across lineages of influenza C viruses. The sequence analysis also suggests that nucleotide substitutions occur at a lower rate in the C virus NS genes than in influenza A virus NS genes.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)12-21
Number of pages10
JournalVirology
Volume153
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 1986
Externally publishedYes

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