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Journal of Virology, February 2007, p. 1961-1971, Vol. 81, No. 4
0022-538X/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JVI.01981-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Evolutionary Mechanisms of Persistence and Diversification of a Calicivirus within Endemically Infected Natural Host Populations{triangledown}

Karen P. Coyne,1* Rosalind M. Gaskell,2 Susan Dawson,1 Carol J. Porter,2 and Alan D. Radford1

Departments of Veterinary Clinical Science,1 Veterinary Pathology, University of Liverpool, Leahurst, Chester High Road, Neston, South Wirral CH64 7TE, United Kingdom2

Received 12 September 2006/ Accepted 24 November 2006

In order to understand the evolutionary mechanisms of persistence and diversification within the Caliciviridae, we have been exploiting endemic infection of feline calicivirus within five geographically distinct household groups of cats. By sequencing immunodominant and variable regions of the capsid gene, we identified the relative contribution of the different evolutionary processes employed by the virus to ensure its long-term survival in the host population. Such strategies included progressive evolution of a given variant of a strain through mutation accumulation within an individual, sequential reinfection with either a variant of the same strain or with a different strain, and mixed infection. Recombination between different strains in this study has been reported in detail elsewhere (K. P. Coyne et al., J. Gen. Virol. 87:921-926, 2006). Here, we provide evidence to suggest that true long-term persistent infection in individuals is relatively rare, with the majority of apparent viral carriers undergoing a combination of progressive evolution and cyclical reinfection. Progressive evolution at the individual level and variant reinfection at both the individual and population levels were associated with positive selection. Two measures of evolution rate were determined; for a virus progressively evolving within an individual (1.32 x 10–2 to 2.64 x 10–2 substitutions per nucleotide per year, i.e., no transmission) and for a strain circulating within a population (3.84 x 10–2 to 4.56 x 10–2 substitutions per nucleotide per year, i.e., including transmission). Reiteration of both progressive evolution and variant reinfection appeared to lead to a gradual increase in the diversity of a given strain of virus, both in the individual and in the population, until eventually new strains emerged.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, University of Liverpool, Leahurst, Chester High Road, South Wirral CH64 7TE, United Kingdom. Phone: 44 0151 795 6033. Fax: 44 0151 794 6005. E-mail: kpcoyne{at}liv.ac.uk.

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 6 December 2006.

Journal of Virology, February 2007, p. 1961-1971, Vol. 81, No. 4
0022-538X/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JVI.01981-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Addie, D., Poulet, H., Golder, M. C., McDonald, M., Brunet, S., Thibault, J-C., Hosie, M. J. (2008). Ability of antibodies to two new caliciviral vaccine strains to neutralise feline calicivirus isolates from the UK. Vet Rec. 163: 355-357 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Coyne, K. P., Edwards, D., Radford, A. D., Cripps, P., Jones, D., Wood, J. L. N., Gaskell, R. M., Dawson, S. (2007). Longitudinal Molecular Epidemiological Analysis of Feline Calicivirus Infection in an Animal Shelter: a Model for Investigating Calicivirus Transmission within High-Density, High-Turnover Populations. J. Clin. Microbiol. 45: 3239-3244 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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