Abstract
The precise identification of the genetic variants of the dengue virus is important to understand its dispersion and virulence patterns and to identify the strains responsible for epidemic outbreaks. This study investigated the genetic variants of the capsid-premembrane junction region fragment in the dengue virus serotypes 1 and 2 (DENV1-2). Samples from 11 municipalities in the State of Paraná, Brazil, were provided by the Central Laboratory of Paraná. They were isolated from the cell culture line C6/36 (Aedes albopictus) and were positive for indirect immunofluorescence. Ribonucleic acid (RNA) extracted from these samples was submitted to the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and nested PCR. RT-PCR revealed that 4 of the samples were co-infected with both serotypes. The isolated DENV-1 sequences were 95-100% similar to the sequences of other serotype 1 strains deposited in GenBank. Similarly, the isolated DENV-2 sequences were 98-100% similar to other serotype 2 sequences in GenBank. According to our neighbor-joining tree, all strains obtained in this study belonged to genotype V of DENV-1. The DENV-2 strains, by contrast, belonged to the American/Asian genotypes. The monitoring of circulating strains is an important tool to detect the migration of virus subtypes involved in dengue epidemics.
Highlights
The precise identification of the genetic variants of the dengue virus is important to understand its dispersion and virulence patterns and to identify the strains responsible for epidemic outbreaks
In this study we genetically characterized the capsid-premembrane junction region fragment of the dengue virus in patients who tested positive for dengue in 2010
Co-infection with multiple dengue virus serotypes is common in hyper-endemic areas where multiple serotypes circulate[6,16], most especially when there is a high density of vectors and people susceptible to dengue
Summary
The virus that causes dengue fever belongs to the genus Flavivirus (Flaviviridae). Its 11kb RNA genome contains an open reading frame (ORF) that encodes 3 structural and 7 non-structural proteins. Dengue virus exhibits substantial genetic diversity, most notably in the existence of 4 distinct serotypes and several genotypes. Attempts to identify these genetic variants have been made by sequencing certain regions of the viral genome. Singh and Seth[5] suggested that fragments of the capsid-premembrane junction region (CprM) might be a faster and cheaper alternative for sequencing short regions. Genes that code for non-structural proteins have been sequenced and used in phylogeny studies[9]. In this study we genetically characterized the capsid-premembrane junction region fragment of the dengue virus in patients who tested positive for dengue in 2010
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