Zika Virus spreading in South America: evolutionary analysis of emerging neutralizing resistant Phe279Ser strains

Objective: To investigate the genetic diversity of Zika virus (ZIKV) and the relationships existing among these circulating viruses worldwide. To evaluate the genetic polymorphisms harboured from ZIKV that can have an influence on the virus circulation. Methods: Three different ZIKV dataset were built. The first dataset included 63 E gene sequences, the second one 22 NS3 sequences and the third dataset was composed of 108 NS5 gene sequences. Phylogenetic and selective pressure analysis was performed. The edited nucleic acid alignment from the Envelope dataset was used to generate a conceptual translation to the corresponding peptide sequences through UGene software. Results: The phylogeographic reconstruction was able to discriminate unambiguously that the Brazilian strains are belonged to the Asian lineage. The structural analysis reveals instead the presence of the Ser residue in the Brazilian sequences (however already observed in other previously reported ZIKV infections) that could suggest the presence of a neutralization-resistant population of viruses. Conclusions: Phylogenetic, evolutionary and selective pressure analysis contributed to improve the knowledge on the circulation of ZIKV.