Evolution and marker mutations in different clades of monkeypox virus.

Abstract

Monkeypox (MPX) is a viral zoonotic infection caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV) (1,2). It can spread not only from animals to humans but also from humans to humans and from the environment to humans (1,2). MPXV was first identified in monkey colonies in Denmark in 1958 (2,3). The first human infection of MPXV was observed in 1970 in Congo and then spread to neighboring countries, especially western and central African countries (2,4). Afterward, MPXV-infected cases were reported from non-African countries from time to time. The largest MPXV outbreak described thus far in non-endemic countries was identified in May 2022 (1,2,5). According to the summary of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), MPXV has spread over 110 countries worldwide, and approximately 83,539 infected cases were reported as of December 23, 2022 (6). Evolutionary study is a significant area for infection biology. Since June 2022, following a phylogenomic approach, some studies have uncovered the origin and evolution of the current MPXV, revealed the occurrence of epidemic clusters with geographic consistency, identified distinct phylogenetic clusters, and described the microevolution of MPXV (7-11). We have taken this work a step further. Up-to-date evolution analysis was conducted, and marker mutations in different clades of MPXV were proposed This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.