Virology. Mutation rate and genotype variation of Ebola virus from Mali case sequences

T Hoenen; D Safronetz; A Groseth; K R Wollenberg; O A Koita; B Diarra; I S Fall; F C Haidara; F Diallo; M Sanogo; Y S Sarro; A Kone; A C G Togo; A Traore; M Kodio; A Dosseh; K Rosenke; E de Wit; F Feldmann; H Ebihara; V J Munster; K C Zoon; H Feldmann; S Sow

doi:10.1126/science.aaa5646

Virology. Mutation rate and genotype variation of Ebola virus from Mali case sequences

Science. 2015 Apr 3;348(6230):117-9. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa5646. Epub 2015 Mar 26.

Authors

T Hoenen¹, D Safronetz¹, A Groseth¹, K R Wollenberg², O A Koita³, B Diarra³, I S Fall⁴, F C Haidara⁵, F Diallo⁵, M Sanogo³, Y S Sarro³, A Kone³, A C G Togo³, A Traore⁵, M Kodio⁵, A Dosseh⁶, K Rosenke¹, E de Wit¹, F Feldmann⁷, H Ebihara¹, V J Munster¹, K C Zoon⁸, H Feldmann⁹, S Sow¹⁰

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Virology, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Hamilton, MT 59840, USA.
² Bioinformatics and Computational Biosciences Branch, NIAID, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
³ Center of Research and Training for HIV and Tuberculosis, University of Science, Technique and Technologies of Bamako, Mali.
⁴ World Health Organization Office, Bamako, Mali.
⁵ Centre des Operations d'Urgence, Centre pour le Développement des Vaccins (CVD-Mali), Centre National d'Appui à la lutte contre la Maladie, Ministère de la Sante et de l'Hygiène Publique, Bamako, Mali.
⁶ World Health Organization Inter-Country Support Team, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
⁷ Rocky Mountain Veterinary Branch, Division of Intramural Research, NIAID, NIH, Hamilton, MT 59840, USA.
⁸ Office of the Scientific Director, NIAID, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20895, USA.
⁹ Laboratory of Virology, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Hamilton, MT 59840, USA. feldmannh@niaid.nih.gov ssow@medicine.umaryland.edu.
¹⁰ Centre des Operations d'Urgence, Centre pour le Développement des Vaccins (CVD-Mali), Centre National d'Appui à la lutte contre la Maladie, Ministère de la Sante et de l'Hygiène Publique, Bamako, Mali. feldmannh@niaid.nih.gov ssow@medicine.umaryland.edu.

Abstract

The occurrence of Ebola virus (EBOV) in West Africa during 2013-2015 is unprecedented. Early reports suggested that in this outbreak EBOV is mutating twice as fast as previously observed, which indicates the potential for changes in transmissibility and virulence and could render current molecular diagnostics and countermeasures ineffective. We have determined additional full-length sequences from two clusters of imported EBOV infections into Mali, and we show that the nucleotide substitution rate (9.6 × 10(-4) substitutions per site per year) is consistent with rates observed in Central African outbreaks. In addition, overall variation among all genotypes observed remains low. Thus, our data indicate that EBOV is not undergoing rapid evolution in humans during the current outbreak. This finding has important implications for outbreak response and public health decisions and should alleviate several previously raised concerns.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural

MeSH terms

Base Sequence
Disease Outbreaks
Ebolavirus / classification
Ebolavirus / genetics*
Ebolavirus / isolation & purification
Genotype
Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / epidemiology
Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / virology*
Humans
Mali / epidemiology
Molecular Sequence Data
Mutation Rate*
Phylogeny

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding