1
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Lou J, Liang W, Cao L, Hu I, Zhao S, Chen Z, Chan RWY, Cheung PPH, Zheng H, Liu C, Li Q, Chong MKC, Zhang Y, Yeoh EK, Chan PKS, Zee BCY, Mok CKP, Wang MH. Predictive evolutionary modelling for influenza virus by site-based dynamics of mutations. Nat Commun 2024; 15:2546. [PMID: 38514647 PMCID: PMC10958014 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46918-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Influenza virus continuously evolves to escape human adaptive immunity and generates seasonal epidemics. Therefore, influenza vaccine strains need to be updated annually for the upcoming flu season to ensure vaccine effectiveness. We develop a computational approach, beth-1, to forecast virus evolution and select representative virus for influenza vaccine. The method involves modelling site-wise mutation fitness. Informed by virus genome and population sero-positivity, we calibrate transition time of mutations and project the fitness landscape to future time, based on which beth-1 selects the optimal vaccine strain. In season-to-season prediction in historical data for the influenza A pH1N1 and H3N2 viruses, beth-1 demonstrates superior genetic matching compared to existing approaches. In prospective validations, the model shows superior or non-inferior genetic matching and neutralization against circulating virus in mice immunization experiments compared to the current vaccine. The method offers a promising and ready-to-use tool to facilitate vaccine strain selection for the influenza virus through capturing heterogeneous evolutionary dynamics over genome space-time and linking molecular variants to population immune response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingzhi Lou
- JC School of Public Health and Primary Care (JCSPHPC), The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Hong Kong SAR, China
- Beth Bioinformatics Co. Ltd, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Weiwen Liang
- HKU-Pasteur Research Pole, School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Lirong Cao
- JC School of Public Health and Primary Care (JCSPHPC), The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Hong Kong SAR, China
- CUHK Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen, China
| | - Inchi Hu
- Department of Statistics, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA
| | - Shi Zhao
- JC School of Public Health and Primary Care (JCSPHPC), The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Hong Kong SAR, China
- School of Public Health, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
| | - Zigui Chen
- Department of Microbiology, CUHK, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Renee Wan Yi Chan
- Department of Paediatrics, CUHK, Hong Kong SAR, China
- Hong Kong Hub of Paediatric Excellence, CUHK, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | | | - Hong Zheng
- JC School of Public Health and Primary Care (JCSPHPC), The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Caiqi Liu
- JC School of Public Health and Primary Care (JCSPHPC), The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Qi Li
- JC School of Public Health and Primary Care (JCSPHPC), The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Marc Ka Chun Chong
- JC School of Public Health and Primary Care (JCSPHPC), The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Hong Kong SAR, China
- CUHK Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yexian Zhang
- Beth Bioinformatics Co. Ltd, Hong Kong SAR, China
- CUHK Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen, China
| | - Eng-Kiong Yeoh
- JC School of Public Health and Primary Care (JCSPHPC), The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Hong Kong SAR, China
- Centre for Health Systems and Policy Research, CUHK, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Paul Kay-Sheung Chan
- Department of Microbiology, CUHK, Hong Kong SAR, China
- Stanley Ho Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases, CUHK, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Benny Chung Ying Zee
- JC School of Public Health and Primary Care (JCSPHPC), The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Hong Kong SAR, China
- CUHK Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen, China
| | - Chris Ka Pun Mok
- JC School of Public Health and Primary Care (JCSPHPC), The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Hong Kong SAR, China.
- Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, CUHK, Hong Kong SAR, China.
| | - Maggie Haitian Wang
- JC School of Public Health and Primary Care (JCSPHPC), The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Hong Kong SAR, China.
- CUHK Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen, China.
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2
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Wang Y, Tang CY, Wan XF. Antigenic characterization of influenza and SARS-CoV-2 viruses. Anal Bioanal Chem 2022; 414:2841-2881. [PMID: 34905077 PMCID: PMC8669429 DOI: 10.1007/s00216-021-03806-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2021] [Revised: 11/21/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Antigenic characterization of emerging and re-emerging viruses is necessary for the prevention of and response to outbreaks, evaluation of infection mechanisms, understanding of virus evolution, and selection of strains for vaccine development. Primary analytic methods, including enzyme-linked immunosorbent/lectin assays, hemagglutination inhibition, neuraminidase inhibition, micro-neutralization assays, and antigenic cartography, have been widely used in the field of influenza research. These techniques have been improved upon over time for increased analytical capacity, and some have been mobilized for the rapid characterization of the SARS-CoV-2 virus as well as its variants, facilitating the development of highly effective vaccines within 1 year of the initially reported outbreak. While great strides have been made for evaluating the antigenic properties of these viruses, multiple challenges prevent efficient vaccine strain selection and accurate assessment. For influenza, these barriers include the requirement for a large virus quantity to perform the assays, more than what can typically be provided by the clinical samples alone, cell- or egg-adapted mutations that can cause antigenic mismatch between the vaccine strain and circulating viruses, and up to a 6-month duration of vaccine development after vaccine strain selection, which allows viruses to continue evolving with potential for antigenic drift and, thus, antigenic mismatch between the vaccine strain and the emerging epidemic strain. SARS-CoV-2 characterization has faced similar challenges with the additional barrier of the need for facilities with high biosafety levels due to its infectious nature. In this study, we review the primary analytic methods used for antigenic characterization of influenza and SARS-CoV-2 and discuss the barriers of these methods and current developments for addressing these challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Wang
- MU Center for Influenza and Emerging Infectious Diseases (CIEID), University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
- Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - Cynthia Y Tang
- MU Center for Influenza and Emerging Infectious Diseases (CIEID), University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
- Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
- Institute for Data Science and Informatics, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - Xiu-Feng Wan
- MU Center for Influenza and Emerging Infectious Diseases (CIEID), University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA.
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA.
- Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA.
- Institute for Data Science and Informatics, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA.
- Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, College of Engineering, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA.
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3
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Chen J, Wang J, Zhang J, Ly H. Advances in Development and Application of Influenza Vaccines. Front Immunol 2021; 12:711997. [PMID: 34326849 PMCID: PMC8313855 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.711997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2021] [Accepted: 06/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Influenza A virus is one of the most important zoonotic pathogens that can cause severe symptoms and has the potential to cause high number of deaths and great economic loss. Vaccination is still the best option to prevent influenza virus infection. Different types of influenza vaccines, including live attenuated virus vaccines, inactivated whole virus vaccines, virosome vaccines, split-virion vaccines and subunit vaccines have been developed. However, they have several limitations, such as the relatively high manufacturing cost and long production time, moderate efficacy of some of the vaccines in certain populations, and lack of cross-reactivity. These are some of the problems that need to be solved. Here, we summarized recent advances in the development and application of different types of influenza vaccines, including the recent development of viral vectored influenza vaccines. We also described the construction of other vaccines that are based on recombinant influenza viruses as viral vectors. Information provided in this review article might lead to the development of safe and highly effective novel influenza vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jidang Chen
- School of Life Science and Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan, China
| | - Jiehuang Wang
- School of Life Science and Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan, China
| | - Jipei Zhang
- School of Life Science and Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan, China
| | - Hinh Ly
- Department of Veterinary & Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, MN, United States
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4
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Piantham C, Ito K. Modeling the selective advantage of new amino acids on the hemagglutinin of H1N1 influenza viruses using their patient age distributions. Virus Evol 2021; 7:veab049. [PMID: 34285812 PMCID: PMC8286795 DOI: 10.1093/ve/veab049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
In 2009, a new strain of H1N1 influenza A virus caused a pandemic, and its descendant strains are causing seasonal epidemics worldwide. Given the high mutation rate of influenza viruses, variant strains having different amino acids on hemagglutinin (HA) continuously emerge. To prepare vaccine strains for the next influenza seasons, it is an urgent task to predict which variants will be selected in the viral population. An analysis of 24,681 pairs of an amino acid sequence of HA of H1N1pdm2009 viruses and its patient age showed that the empirical fixation probability of new amino acids on HA significantly differed depending on their frequencies in the population, patient age distributions, and epitope flags. The selective advantage of a variant strain having a new amino acid was modeled by linear combinations of patients age distributions and epitope flags, and then the fixation probability of the new amino acid was modeled using Kimura’s formula for advantageous selection. The parameters of models were estimated from the sequence data and models were tested with four-fold cross validations. The frequency of new amino acids alone can achieve high sensitivity, specificity, and precision in predicting the fixation of a new amino acid of which frequency is more than 0.11. The estimated parameter suggested that viruses with a new amino acid having a frequency in the population higher than 0.11 have a significantly higher selective advantage compared to viruses with the old amino acid at the same position. The model considering the Z-value of patient age rank-sums of new amino acids predicted amino acid substitutions on HA with a sensitivity of 0.78, specificity of 0.86, and precision of 0.83, showing significant improvement compared to the constant selective advantage model, which used only the frequency of the amino acid. These results suggested that H1N1 viruses tend to be selected in the adult population, and frequency of viruses having new amino acids and their patient ages are useful to predict amino acid substitutions on HA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chayada Piantham
- Division of Bioinformatics, Graduate School of Infectious Diseases, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 0600818, Japan
| | - Kimihito Ito
- Division of Bioinformatics, International Institute for Zoonosis Control, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 0010020, Japan
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5
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Identifying Potentially Beneficial Genetic Mutations Associated with Monophyletic Selective Sweep and a Proof-of-Concept Study with Viral Genetic Data. mSystems 2021; 6:6/1/e01151-20. [PMID: 33622855 PMCID: PMC8573955 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.01151-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Genetic mutations play a central role in evolution. For a significantly beneficial mutation, a one-time mutation event suffices for the species to prosper and predominate through the process called “monophyletic selective sweep.” However, existing methods that rely on counting the number of mutation events to detect selection are unable to find such a mutation in selective sweep. We here introduce a method to detect mutations at the single amino acid/nucleotide level that could be responsible for monophyletic selective sweep evolution. The method identifies a genetic signature associated with selective sweep using the population genetic test statistic Tajima’s D. We applied the algorithm to ebolavirus, influenza A virus, and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 to identify known biologically significant mutations and unrecognized mutations associated with potential selective sweep. The method can detect beneficial mutations, possibly leading to discovery of previously unknown biological functions and mechanisms related to those mutations. IMPORTANCE In biology, research on evolution is important to understand the significance of genetic mutation. When there is a significantly beneficial mutation, a population of species with the mutation prospers and predominates, in a process called “selective sweep.” However, there are few methods that can find such a mutation causing selective sweep from genetic data. We here introduce a novel method to detect such mutations. Applying the method to the genomes of ebolavirus, influenza viruses, and the novel coronavirus, we detected known biologically significant mutations and identified mutations the importance of which is previously unrecognized. The method can deepen our understanding of molecular and evolutionary biology.
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6
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Lähnemann D, Köster J, Szczurek E, McCarthy DJ, Hicks SC, Robinson MD, Vallejos CA, Campbell KR, Beerenwinkel N, Mahfouz A, Pinello L, Skums P, Stamatakis A, Attolini CSO, Aparicio S, Baaijens J, Balvert M, Barbanson BD, Cappuccio A, Corleone G, Dutilh BE, Florescu M, Guryev V, Holmer R, Jahn K, Lobo TJ, Keizer EM, Khatri I, Kielbasa SM, Korbel JO, Kozlov AM, Kuo TH, Lelieveldt BP, Mandoiu II, Marioni JC, Marschall T, Mölder F, Niknejad A, Rączkowska A, Reinders M, Ridder JD, Saliba AE, Somarakis A, Stegle O, Theis FJ, Yang H, Zelikovsky A, McHardy AC, Raphael BJ, Shah SP, Schönhuth A. Eleven grand challenges in single-cell data science. Genome Biol 2020; 21:31. [PMID: 32033589 PMCID: PMC7007675 DOI: 10.1186/s13059-020-1926-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 554] [Impact Index Per Article: 138.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2019] [Accepted: 01/02/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The recent boom in microfluidics and combinatorial indexing strategies, combined with low sequencing costs, has empowered single-cell sequencing technology. Thousands-or even millions-of cells analyzed in a single experiment amount to a data revolution in single-cell biology and pose unique data science problems. Here, we outline eleven challenges that will be central to bringing this emerging field of single-cell data science forward. For each challenge, we highlight motivating research questions, review prior work, and formulate open problems. This compendium is for established researchers, newcomers, and students alike, highlighting interesting and rewarding problems for the coming years.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Lähnemann
- Algorithms for Reproducible Bioinformatics, Genome Informatics, Institute of Human Genetics, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
- Department of Paediatric Oncology, Haematology and Immunology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, University Hospital, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Computational Biology of Infection Research Group, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Johannes Köster
- Algorithms for Reproducible Bioinformatics, Genome Informatics, Institute of Human Genetics, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
- Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
| | - Ewa Szczurek
- Institute of Informatics, Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Mechanics, University of Warsaw, Warszawa, Poland
| | - Davis J. McCarthy
- Bioinformatics and Cellular Genomics, St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research, Fitzroy, Australia
- Melbourne Integrative Genomics, School of BioSciences–School of Mathematics & Statistics, Faculty of Science, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Stephanie C. Hicks
- Department of Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD USA
| | - Mark D. Robinson
- Institute of Molecular Life Sciences and SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Catalina A. Vallejos
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, UK
- The Alan Turing Institute, British Library, London, UK
| | - Kieran R. Campbell
- Department of Statistics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
- Department of Molecular Oncology, BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver, Canada
- Data Science Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Niko Beerenwinkel
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Basel, Switzerland
- SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Ahmed Mahfouz
- Leiden Computational Biology Center, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Delft Bioinformatics Lab, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Luca Pinello
- Molecular Pathology Unit and Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts General Hospital Research Institute, Charlestown, USA
- Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
- Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA USA
| | - Pavel Skums
- Department of Computer Science, Georgia State University, Atlanta, USA
| | - Alexandros Stamatakis
- Computational Molecular Evolution Group, Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies, Heidelberg, Germany
- Institute for Theoretical Informatics, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany
| | | | - Samuel Aparicio
- Department of Molecular Oncology, BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver, Canada
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Jasmijn Baaijens
- Life Sciences and Health, Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Marleen Balvert
- Life Sciences and Health, Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Theoretical Biology and Bioinformatics, Science for Life, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Buys de Barbanson
- Center for Molecular Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Oncode Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Quantitative biology, Hubrecht Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Antonio Cappuccio
- Institute for Advanced Study, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Giacomo Corleone
- Department of Surgery and Cancer, The Imperial Centre for Translational and Experimental Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Bas E. Dutilh
- Theoretical Biology and Bioinformatics, Science for Life, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Centre for Molecular and Biomolecular Informatics, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Maria Florescu
- Center for Molecular Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Oncode Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Quantitative biology, Hubrecht Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Victor Guryev
- European Research Institute for the Biology of Ageing, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Rens Holmer
- Bioinformatics Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Katharina Jahn
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Basel, Switzerland
- SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Thamar Jessurun Lobo
- European Research Institute for the Biology of Ageing, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Emma M. Keizer
- Biometris, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Indu Khatri
- Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Szymon M. Kielbasa
- Department of Biomedical Data Sciences, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Jan O. Korbel
- Genome Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Alexey M. Kozlov
- Computational Molecular Evolution Group, Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Tzu-Hao Kuo
- Computational Biology of Infection Research Group, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Boudewijn P.F. Lelieveldt
- PRB lab, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
- Division of Image Processing, Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Ion I. Mandoiu
- Computer Science & Engineering Department, University of Connecticut, Storrs, USA
| | - John C. Marioni
- Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, Li Ka Shing Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, UK
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, Hinxton, UK
| | - Tobias Marschall
- Center for Bioinformatics, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Informatics, Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Felix Mölder
- Algorithms for Reproducible Bioinformatics, Genome Informatics, Institute of Human Genetics, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
- Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Amir Niknejad
- Computation molecular design, Zuse Institute Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Mathematics Department, Mount Saint Vincent, New York, USA
| | - Alicja Rączkowska
- Institute of Informatics, Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Mechanics, University of Warsaw, Warszawa, Poland
| | - Marcel Reinders
- Leiden Computational Biology Center, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Delft Bioinformatics Lab, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Jeroen de Ridder
- Center for Molecular Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Oncode Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Antoine-Emmanuel Saliba
- Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research, Helmholtz-Center for Infection Research, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Antonios Somarakis
- Division of Image Processing, Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Oliver Stegle
- Genome Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, Hinxton, UK
- Division of Computational Genomics and Systems Genetics, German Cancer Research Center–DKFZ, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Fabian J. Theis
- Institute of Computational Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum München–German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Huan Yang
- Division of Drug Discovery and Safety, Leiden Academic Center for Drug Research–LACDR–Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Alex Zelikovsky
- Department of Computer Science, Georgia State University, Atlanta, USA
- The Laboratory of Bioinformatics, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russia
| | - Alice C. McHardy
- Computational Biology of Infection Research Group, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany
| | | | - Sohrab P. Shah
- Computational Oncology, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, USA
| | - Alexander Schönhuth
- Life Sciences and Health, Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Theoretical Biology and Bioinformatics, Science for Life, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
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7
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Structures and functions linked to genome-wide adaptation of human influenza A viruses. Sci Rep 2019; 9:6267. [PMID: 31000776 PMCID: PMC6472403 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-42614-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2018] [Accepted: 03/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Human influenza A viruses elicit short-term respiratory infections with considerable mortality and morbidity. While H3N2 viruses circulate for more than 50 years, the recent introduction of pH1N1 viruses presents an excellent opportunity for a comparative analysis of the genome-wide evolutionary forces acting on both subtypes. Here, we inferred patches of sites relevant for adaptation, i.e. being under positive selection, on eleven viral protein structures, from all available data since 1968 and correlated these with known functional properties. Overall, pH1N1 have more patches than H3N2 viruses, especially in the viral polymerase complex, while antigenic evolution is more apparent for H3N2 viruses. In both subtypes, NS1 has the highest patch and patch site frequency, indicating that NS1-mediated viral attenuation of host inflammatory responses is a continuously intensifying process, elevated even in the longtime-circulating subtype H3N2. We confirmed the resistance-causing effects of two pH1N1 changes against oseltamivir in NA activity assays, demonstrating the value of the resource for discovering functionally relevant changes. Our results represent an atlas of protein regions and sites with links to host adaptation, antiviral drug resistance and immune evasion for both subtypes for further study.
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8
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Ibrahim B, Arkhipova K, Andeweg AC, Posada-Céspedes S, Enault F, Gruber A, Koonin EV, Kupczok A, Lemey P, McHardy AC, McMahon DP, Pickett BE, Robertson DL, Scheuermann RH, Zhernakova A, Zwart MP, Schönhuth A, Dutilh BE, Marz M. Bioinformatics Meets Virology: The European Virus Bioinformatics Center's Second Annual Meeting. Viruses 2018; 10:E256. [PMID: 29757994 PMCID: PMC5977249 DOI: 10.3390/v10050256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2018] [Revised: 05/11/2018] [Accepted: 05/11/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The Second Annual Meeting of the European Virus Bioinformatics Center (EVBC), held in Utrecht, Netherlands, focused on computational approaches in virology, with topics including (but not limited to) virus discovery, diagnostics, (meta-)genomics, modeling, epidemiology, molecular structure, evolution, and viral ecology. The goals of the Second Annual Meeting were threefold: (i) to bring together virologists and bioinformaticians from across the academic, industrial, professional, and training sectors to share best practice; (ii) to provide a meaningful and interactive scientific environment to promote discussion and collaboration between students, postdoctoral fellows, and both new and established investigators; (iii) to inspire and suggest new research directions and questions. Approximately 120 researchers from around the world attended the Second Annual Meeting of the EVBC this year, including 15 renowned international speakers. This report presents an overview of new developments and novel research findings that emerged during the meeting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bashar Ibrahim
- European Virus Bioinformatics Center, 07743 Jena, Germany.
- Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07743 Jena, Germany.
| | - Ksenia Arkhipova
- Theoretical Biology and Bioinformatics, Utrecht University, 3508 TC Utrecht, The Netherlands.
| | - Arno C Andeweg
- European Virus Bioinformatics Center, 07743 Jena, Germany.
- Department of Viroscience, Erasmus Medical Center, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Susana Posada-Céspedes
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zürich, 4058 Basel, Switzerland.
- SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, 4058 Basel, Switzerland.
| | - François Enault
- Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, LMGE, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
| | - Arthur Gruber
- Department of Parasitology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, 05508-000 São Paulo, Brazil.
| | - Eugene V Koonin
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, NLM, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20894, USA.
| | - Anne Kupczok
- European Virus Bioinformatics Center, 07743 Jena, Germany.
- Institute of General Microbiology, Kiel University, 24118 Kiel, Germany.
| | - Philippe Lemey
- European Virus Bioinformatics Center, 07743 Jena, Germany.
- Clinical and Epidemiological Virology, Rega Institute, KU Leuven, University of Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Alice C McHardy
- European Virus Bioinformatics Center, 07743 Jena, Germany.
- Department for Computational Biology of Infection Research, Helmholtz Center for Infection Research, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany.
| | - Dino P McMahon
- European Virus Bioinformatics Center, 07743 Jena, Germany.
- Institute of Biology, Free University Berlin, Schwendenerstr. 1, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
- Department for Materials and Environment, BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Unter den Eichen 87, 12205 Berlin, Germany.
| | - Brett E Pickett
- European Virus Bioinformatics Center, 07743 Jena, Germany.
- J. Craig Venter Institute, Rockville, MD 20850, USA.
| | - David L Robertson
- European Virus Bioinformatics Center, 07743 Jena, Germany.
- MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Garscube Campus, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK.
| | - Richard H Scheuermann
- European Virus Bioinformatics Center, 07743 Jena, Germany.
- J. Craig Venter Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
| | - Alexandra Zhernakova
- Department of Genetics, University Medical Center Groningen, 9700 RB Groningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Mark P Zwart
- Department of Microbial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Alexander Schönhuth
- European Virus Bioinformatics Center, 07743 Jena, Germany.
- Theoretical Biology and Bioinformatics, Utrecht University, 3508 TC Utrecht, The Netherlands.
- Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica, Science Park 123, 1098 XG Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Bas E Dutilh
- European Virus Bioinformatics Center, 07743 Jena, Germany.
- Theoretical Biology and Bioinformatics, Utrecht University, 3508 TC Utrecht, The Netherlands.
| | - Manja Marz
- European Virus Bioinformatics Center, 07743 Jena, Germany.
- Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07743 Jena, Germany.
- Leibniz Institute for Age Research-Fritz Lipmann Institute, 07745 Jena, Germany.
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9
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Agor JK, Özaltın OY. Models for predicting the evolution of influenza to inform vaccine strain selection. Hum Vaccin Immunother 2018; 14:678-683. [PMID: 29337643 DOI: 10.1080/21645515.2017.1423152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Influenza vaccine composition is reviewed before every flu season because influenza viruses constantly evolve through antigenic changes. To inform vaccine updates, laboratories that contribute to the World Health Organization Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System monitor the antigenic phenotypes of circulating viruses all year round. Vaccine strains are selected in anticipation of the upcoming influenza season to allow adequate time for production. A mismatch between vaccine strains and predominant strains in the flu season can significantly reduce vaccine effectiveness. Models for predicting the evolution of influenza based on the relationship of genetic mutations and antigenic characteristics of circulating viruses may inform vaccine strain selection decisions. We review the literature on state-of-the-art tools and prediction methodologies utilized in modeling the evolution of influenza to inform vaccine strain selection. We then discuss areas that are open for improvement and need further research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph K Agor
- a Operations Research, North Carolina State University , Raleigh , NC , USA
| | - Osman Y Özaltın
- b Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering , North Carolina State University , Raleigh , NC , USA
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10
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Klingen TR, Reimering S, Loers J, Mooren K, Klawonn F, Krey T, Gabriel G, McHardy AC. Sweep Dynamics (SD) plots: Computational identification of selective sweeps to monitor the adaptation of influenza A viruses. Sci Rep 2018; 8:373. [PMID: 29321538 PMCID: PMC5762865 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-18791-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2017] [Accepted: 12/18/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Monitoring changes in influenza A virus genomes is crucial to understand its rapid evolution and adaptation to changing conditions e.g. establishment within novel host species. Selective sweeps represent a rapid mode of adaptation and are typically observed in human influenza A viruses. We describe Sweep Dynamics (SD) plots, a computational method combining phylogenetic algorithms with statistical techniques to characterize the molecular adaptation of rapidly evolving viruses from longitudinal sequence data. SD plots facilitate the identification of selective sweeps, the time periods in which these occurred and associated changes providing a selective advantage to the virus. We studied the past genome-wide adaptation of the 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza A (pH1N1) and seasonal H3N2 influenza A (sH3N2) viruses. The pH1N1 influenza virus showed simultaneous amino acid changes in various proteins, particularly in seasons of high pH1N1 activity. Partially, these changes resulted in functional alterations facilitating sustained human-to-human transmission. In the evolution of sH3N2 influenza viruses, we detected changes characterizing vaccine strains, which were occasionally revealed in selective sweeps one season prior to the WHO recommendation. Taken together, SD plots allow monitoring and characterizing the adaptive evolution of influenza A viruses by identifying selective sweeps and their associated signatures.
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MESH Headings
- Algorithms
- Computational Biology/methods
- Evolution, Molecular
- Hemagglutinins, Viral/chemistry
- Hemagglutinins, Viral/genetics
- Hemagglutinins, Viral/immunology
- Humans
- Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype/genetics
- Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype/immunology
- Influenza A Virus, H3N2 Subtype/genetics
- Influenza A Virus, H3N2 Subtype/immunology
- Influenza Vaccines/genetics
- Influenza Vaccines/immunology
- Influenza, Human/immunology
- Influenza, Human/virology
- Models, Molecular
- Phylogeny
- Protein Conformation
- Sequence Analysis, RNA/methods
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Affiliation(s)
- Thorsten R Klingen
- Department for Computational Biology of Infection Research1, Helmholtz Center for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Susanne Reimering
- Department for Computational Biology of Infection Research1, Helmholtz Center for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Jens Loers
- Department for Computational Biology of Infection Research1, Helmholtz Center for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Kyra Mooren
- Department for Computational Biology of Infection Research1, Helmholtz Center for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Frank Klawonn
- Biostatistics Group, Helmholtz Center for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany
- Department of Computer Science, Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences, Wolfenbüttel, Germany
| | - Thomas Krey
- Institute of Virology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Gülsah Gabriel
- Viral Zoonoses and Adaptation, Heinrich Pette Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology, Hamburg, Germany
- University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Alice C McHardy
- Department for Computational Biology of Infection Research1, Helmholtz Center for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany.
- German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Braunschweig, Germany.
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11
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Klingen TR, Reimering S, Guzmán CA, McHardy AC. In Silico Vaccine Strain Prediction for Human Influenza Viruses. Trends Microbiol 2017; 26:119-131. [PMID: 29032900 DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2017.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2017] [Revised: 07/21/2017] [Accepted: 09/06/2017] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Vaccines preventing seasonal influenza infections save many lives every year; however, due to rapid viral evolution, they have to be updated frequently to remain effective. To identify appropriate vaccine strains, the World Health Organization (WHO) operates a global program that continually generates and interprets surveillance data. Over the past decade, sophisticated computational techniques, drawing from multiple theoretical disciplines, have been developed that predict viral lineages rising to predominance, assess their suitability as vaccine strains, link genetic to antigenic alterations, as well as integrate and visualize genetic, epidemiological, structural, and antigenic data. These could form the basis of an objective and reproducible vaccine strain-selection procedure utilizing the complex, large-scale data types from surveillance. To this end, computational techniques should already be incorporated into the vaccine-selection process in an independent, parallel track, and their performance continuously evaluated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thorsten R Klingen
- Department for Computational Biology of Infection Research, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany; Co-first authors
| | - Susanne Reimering
- Department for Computational Biology of Infection Research, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany; Co-first authors
| | - Carlos A Guzmán
- Department of Vaccinology and Applied Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany; German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF)
| | - Alice C McHardy
- Department for Computational Biology of Infection Research, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany; German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF).
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12
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Otte A, Marriott AC, Dreier C, Dove B, Mooren K, Klingen TR, Sauter M, Thompson KA, Bennett A, Klingel K, van Riel D, McHardy AC, Carroll MW, Gabriel G. Evolution of 2009 H1N1 influenza viruses during the pandemic correlates with increased viral pathogenicity and transmissibility in the ferret model. Sci Rep 2016; 6:28583. [PMID: 27339001 PMCID: PMC4919623 DOI: 10.1038/srep28583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2015] [Accepted: 06/07/2016] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
There is increasing evidence that 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza viruses have evolved after pandemic onset giving rise to severe epidemics in subsequent waves. However, it still remains unclear which viral determinants might have contributed to disease severity after pandemic initiation. Here, we show that distinct mutations in the 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus genome have occurred with increased frequency after pandemic declaration. Among those, a mutation in the viral hemagglutinin was identified that increases 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus binding to human-like α2,6-linked sialic acids. Moreover, these mutations conferred increased viral replication in the respiratory tract and elevated respiratory droplet transmission between ferrets. Thus, our data show that 2009 H1N1 influenza viruses have evolved after pandemic onset giving rise to novel virus variants that enhance viral replicative fitness and respiratory droplet transmission in a mammalian animal model. These findings might help to improve surveillance efforts to assess the pandemic risk by emerging influenza viruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Otte
- Viral Zoonoses and Adaptation, Heinrich Pette Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology, Hamburg, Germany
| | | | - Carola Dreier
- Viral Zoonoses and Adaptation, Heinrich Pette Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Brian Dove
- Public Health England, Porton Down, United Kingdom
| | - Kyra Mooren
- Department for Computational Biology of Infection Research, Helmholtz Center for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Thorsten R Klingen
- Department for Computational Biology of Infection Research, Helmholtz Center for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Martina Sauter
- Department for Molecular Pathology, Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Tübingen, Germany
| | | | | | - Karin Klingel
- Department for Molecular Pathology, Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Tübingen, Germany
| | - Debby van Riel
- Viral Zoonoses and Adaptation, Heinrich Pette Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology, Hamburg, Germany.,Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Alice C McHardy
- Department for Computational Biology of Infection Research, Helmholtz Center for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany
| | | | - Gülsah Gabriel
- Viral Zoonoses and Adaptation, Heinrich Pette Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology, Hamburg, Germany.,Center for Structure and Cell Biology in Medicine, University of Lübeck, Germany
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13
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Li C, Hatta M, Burke DF, Ping J, Zhang Y, Ozawa M, Taft AS, Das SC, Hanson AP, Song J, Imai M, Wilker PR, Watanabe T, Watanabe S, Ito M, Iwatsuki-Horimoto K, Russell CA, James SL, Skepner E, Maher EA, Neumann G, Klimov AI, Kelso A, McCauley J, Wang D, Shu Y, Odagiri T, Tashiro M, Xu X, Wentworth DE, Katz JM, Cox NJ, Smith DJ, Kawaoka Y. Selection of antigenically advanced variants of seasonal influenza viruses. Nat Microbiol 2016; 1:16058. [PMID: 27572841 PMCID: PMC5087998 DOI: 10.1038/nmicrobiol.2016.58] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2016] [Accepted: 03/30/2016] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Influenza viruses mutate frequently, necessitating constant updates of vaccine viruses. To establish experimental approaches that may complement the current vaccine strain selection process, we selected antigenic variants from human H1N1 and H3N2 influenza virus libraries possessing random mutations in the globular head of the haemagglutinin protein (which includes the antigenic sites) by incubating them with human and/or ferret convalescent sera to human H1N1 and H3N2 viruses. We also selected antigenic escape variants from human viruses treated with convalescent sera and from mice that had been previously immunized against human influenza viruses. Our pilot studies with past influenza viruses identified escape mutants that were antigenically similar to variants that emerged in nature, establishing the feasibility of our approach. Our studies with contemporary human influenza viruses identified escape mutants before they caused an epidemic in 2014-2015. This approach may aid in the prediction of potential antigenic escape variants and the selection of future vaccine candidates before they become widespread in nature.
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MESH Headings
- Amino Acid Substitution
- Animals
- Antigenic Variation
- Antigens, Viral/genetics
- Antigens, Viral/immunology
- Evolution, Molecular
- Ferrets/immunology
- Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus/chemistry
- Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus/genetics
- Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus/immunology
- Humans
- Immune Evasion
- Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype/genetics
- Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype/immunology
- Influenza A Virus, H3N2 Subtype/genetics
- Influenza A Virus, H3N2 Subtype/immunology
- Influenza Vaccines/genetics
- Influenza Vaccines/immunology
- Influenza, Human/epidemiology
- Influenza, Human/prevention & control
- Mice
- Orthomyxoviridae Infections/prevention & control
- Seasons
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Affiliation(s)
- Chengjun Li
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, Influenza Research Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, 53711 Wisconsin USA
| | - Masato Hatta
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, Influenza Research Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, 53711 Wisconsin USA
| | - David F. Burke
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
- World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Modelling, Evolution, and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Jihui Ping
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, Influenza Research Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, 53711 Wisconsin USA
| | - Ying Zhang
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, Influenza Research Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, 53711 Wisconsin USA
| | - Makoto Ozawa
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, Influenza Research Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, 53711 Wisconsin USA
- Department of Special Pathogens, International Research Center for Infectious Diseases, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 108-8639, Japan
| | - Andrew S. Taft
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, Influenza Research Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, 53711 Wisconsin USA
| | - Subash C. Das
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, Influenza Research Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, 53711 Wisconsin USA
| | - Anthony P. Hanson
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, Influenza Research Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, 53711 Wisconsin USA
| | - Jiasheng Song
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, Influenza Research Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, 53711 Wisconsin USA
| | - Masaki Imai
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, Influenza Research Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, 53711 Wisconsin USA
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Agriculture, Iwate University, Iwate 020-8550, Japan
| | - Peter R. Wilker
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, Influenza Research Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, 53711 Wisconsin USA
| | - Tokiko Watanabe
- ERATO Infection-Induced Host Responses Project, Saitama 332-0012, Japan
| | - Shinji Watanabe
- ERATO Infection-Induced Host Responses Project, Saitama 332-0012, Japan
| | - Mutsumi Ito
- Division of Virology, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 108-8639, Japan
| | - Kiyoko Iwatsuki-Horimoto
- Division of Virology, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 108-8639, Japan
| | - Colin A. Russell
- World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Modelling, Evolution, and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
- Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892 Maryland USA
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0ES, UK
| | - Sarah L. James
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
- World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Modelling, Evolution, and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Eugene Skepner
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
- World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Modelling, Evolution, and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Eileen A. Maher
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, Influenza Research Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, 53711 Wisconsin USA
| | - Gabriele Neumann
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, Influenza Research Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, 53711 Wisconsin USA
| | - Alexander I. Klimov
- Influenza Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, 30033 Georgia USA
| | - Anne Kelso
- WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza (VIDRL) at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, 3000 Victoria Australia
| | - John McCauley
- Division of Virology, MRC National Institute for Medical Research, The Ridgeway, Mill Hill, London NW7 1AA, UK
| | - Dayan Wang
- Chinese National Influenza Center, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China
| | - Yuelong Shu
- Chinese National Influenza Center, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China
| | - Takato Odagiri
- Influenza Virus Research Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Musashi-Murayama, 208-0011 Tokyo Japan
| | - Masato Tashiro
- Influenza Virus Research Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Musashi-Murayama, 208-0011 Tokyo Japan
| | - Xiyan Xu
- Influenza Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, 30033 Georgia USA
| | - David E. Wentworth
- Influenza Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, 30033 Georgia USA
| | - Jacqueline M. Katz
- Influenza Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, 30033 Georgia USA
| | - Nancy J. Cox
- Influenza Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, 30033 Georgia USA
| | - Derek J. Smith
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
- World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Modelling, Evolution, and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
- Department of Virology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam 3000 CA, Netherlands
| | - Yoshihiro Kawaoka
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, Influenza Research Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, 53711 Wisconsin USA
- Department of Special Pathogens, International Research Center for Infectious Diseases, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 108-8639, Japan
- ERATO Infection-Induced Host Responses Project, Saitama 332-0012, Japan
- Division of Virology, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Medical Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 108-8639, Japan
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14
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Neher RA, Bedford T, Daniels RS, Russell CA, Shraiman BI. Prediction, dynamics, and visualization of antigenic phenotypes of seasonal influenza viruses. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016; 113:E1701-9. [PMID: 26951657 PMCID: PMC4812706 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1525578113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 117] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Human seasonal influenza viruses evolve rapidly, enabling the virus population to evade immunity and reinfect previously infected individuals. Antigenic properties are largely determined by the surface glycoprotein hemagglutinin (HA), and amino acid substitutions at exposed epitope sites in HA mediate loss of recognition by antibodies. Here, we show that antigenic differences measured through serological assay data are well described by a sum of antigenic changes along the path connecting viruses in a phylogenetic tree. This mapping onto the tree allows prediction of antigenicity from HA sequence data alone. The mapping can further be used to make predictions about the makeup of the future A(H3N2) seasonal influenza virus population, and we compare predictions between models with serological and sequence data. To make timely model output readily available, we developed a web browser-based application that visualizes antigenic data on a continuously updated phylogeny.
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MESH Headings
- Amino Acid Sequence
- Antigenic Variation/genetics
- Antigens, Viral/genetics
- Antigens, Viral/immunology
- Computer Graphics
- Computer Simulation
- Evolution, Molecular
- Forecasting
- Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus/genetics
- Hemagglutinin Glycoproteins, Influenza Virus/immunology
- Humans
- Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype/genetics
- Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype/immunology
- Influenza A Virus, H3N2 Subtype/genetics
- Influenza A Virus, H3N2 Subtype/immunology
- Influenza Vaccines
- Influenza, Human/epidemiology
- Influenza, Human/prevention & control
- Betainfluenzavirus/genetics
- Betainfluenzavirus/immunology
- Models, Immunological
- Molecular Sequence Data
- Phenotype
- Phylogeny
- Seasons
- Software
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard A Neher
- Evolutionary Dynamics and Biophysics, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Trevor Bedford
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109
| | - Rodney S Daniels
- Worldwide Influenza Centre, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW7 1AA, United Kingdom
| | - Colin A Russell
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0ES, United Kingdom
| | - Boris I Shraiman
- Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106
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15
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Kratsch C, Klingen TR, Mümken L, Steinbrück L, McHardy AC. Determination of antigenicity-altering patches on the major surface protein of human influenza A/H3N2 viruses. Virus Evol 2016; 2:vev025. [PMID: 27774294 PMCID: PMC4989879 DOI: 10.1093/ve/vev025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Human influenza viruses are rapidly evolving RNA viruses that cause short-term respiratory infections with substantial morbidity and mortality in annual epidemics. Uncovering the general principles of viral coevolution with human hosts is important for pathogen surveillance and vaccine design. Protein regions are an appropriate model for the interactions between two macromolecules, but the currently used epitope definition for the major antigen of influenza viruses, namely hemagglutinin, is very broad. Here, we combined genetic, evolutionary, antigenic, and structural information to determine the most relevant regions of the hemagglutinin of human influenza A/H3N2 viruses for interaction with human immunoglobulins. We estimated the antigenic weights of amino acid changes at individual sites from hemagglutination inhibition data using antigenic tree inference followed by spatial clustering of antigenicity-altering protein sites on the protein structure. This approach determined six relevant areas (patches) for antigenic variation that had a key role in the past antigenic evolution of the viruses. Previous transitions between successive predominating antigenic types of H3N2 viruses always included amino acid changes in either the first or second antigenic patch. Interestingly, there was only partial overlap between the antigenic patches and the patches under strong positive selection. Therefore, besides alterations of antigenicity, other interactions with the host may shape the evolution of human influenza A/H3N2 viruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Kratsch
- Department for Algorithmic Bioinformatics, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany and
| | - Thorsten R. Klingen
- Department for Algorithmic Bioinformatics, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany and
- Department for Computational Biology of Infection Research, Helmholtz Center for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Linda Mümken
- Department for Algorithmic Bioinformatics, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany and
| | - Lars Steinbrück
- Department for Algorithmic Bioinformatics, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany and
| | - Alice C. McHardy
- Department for Algorithmic Bioinformatics, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany and
- Department for Computational Biology of Infection Research, Helmholtz Center for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany
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16
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Aita T, Yomo T. Evolutionary dynamics of a polymorphic self-replicator population with a finite population size and hyper mutation rate. J Theor Biol 2015. [PMID: 26209021 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2015.07.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Self-replicating biomolecules, subject to experimental evolution, exhibit hyper mutation rates where the genotypes of most offspring have at least a one point mutation. Thus, we formulated the evolutionary dynamics of an asexual self-replicator population with a finite population size and hyper mutation rate, based on the probability density of fitnesses (fitness distribution) for the evolving population. As a case study, we used a Kauffman's "NK fitness landscape". We deduced recurrence relations for the first three cumulants of the fitness distribution and compared them with the results of computer simulations. We found that the evolutionary dynamics is classified in terms of two modes of selection: the "radical mode" and the "gentle mode". In the radical mode, only a small number of genotypes with the highest or near highest fitness values can leave offspring. In the gentle mode, genotypes with moderate fitness values can leave offspring. We clarified how the evolutionary equilibrium and climbing rate depend on given parameters such as gradient and ruggedness of the landscape, mutation rate and population size, in terms of the two modes of selection. Roughly, the radical mode conducts the fast climbing but attains to the stationary states with low fitness, while the gentle mode conducts the slow climbing but attains to the stationary states with high fitness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takuyo Aita
- Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Yamadaoka 1-5, Suita, Osaka, Japan
| | - Tetsuya Yomo
- Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Yamadaoka 1-5, Suita, Osaka, Japan; Department of Bioinformatic Engineering, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Osaka University, Yamadaoka 1-5, Suita, Osaka, Japan; Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Yamadaoka 1-5, Suita, Osaka, Japan.
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17
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Neher RA, Bedford T. nextflu: real-time tracking of seasonal influenza virus evolution in humans. Bioinformatics 2015; 31:3546-8. [PMID: 26115986 PMCID: PMC4612219 DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btv381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 101] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2015] [Accepted: 06/16/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Summary: Seasonal influenza viruses evolve rapidly, allowing them to evade immunity in their human hosts and reinfect previously infected individuals. Similarly, vaccines against seasonal influenza need to be updated frequently to protect against an evolving virus population. We have thus developed a processing pipeline and browser-based visualization that allows convenient exploration and analysis of the most recent influenza virus sequence data. This web-application displays a phylogenetic tree that can be decorated with additional information such as the viral genotype at specific sites, sampling location and derived statistics that have been shown to be predictive of future virus dynamics. In addition, mutation, genotype and clade frequency trajectories are calculated and displayed. Availability and implementation: Python and Javascript source code is freely available from https://github.com/blab/nextflu, while the web-application is live at http://nextflu.org. Contact:tbedford@fredhutch.org
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard A Neher
- Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, 72076 Tübingen, Germany and
| | - Trevor Bedford
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
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18
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Computational prediction of vaccine strains for human influenza A (H3N2) viruses. J Virol 2014; 88:12123-32. [PMID: 25122778 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01861-14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Human influenza A viruses are rapidly evolving pathogens that cause substantial morbidity and mortality in seasonal epidemics around the globe. To ensure continued protection, the strains used for the production of the seasonal influenza vaccine have to be regularly updated, which involves data collection and analysis by numerous experts worldwide. Computer-guided analysis is becoming increasingly important in this problem due to the vast amounts of generated data. We here describe a computational method for selecting a suitable strain for production of the human influenza A virus vaccine. It interprets available antigenic and genomic sequence data based on measures of antigenic novelty and rate of propagation of the viral strains throughout the population. For viral isolates sampled between 2002 and 2007, we used this method to predict the antigenic evolution of the H3N2 viruses in retrospective testing scenarios. When seasons were scored as true or false predictions, our method returned six true positives, three false negatives, eight true negatives, and one false positive, or 78% accuracy overall. In comparison to the recommendations by the WHO, we identified the correct antigenic variant once at the same time and twice one season ahead. Even though it cannot be ruled out that practical reasons such as lack of a sufficiently well-growing candidate strain may in some cases have prevented recommendation of the best-matching strain by the WHO, our computational decision procedure allows quantitative interpretation of the growing amounts of data and may help to match the vaccine better to predominating strains in seasonal influenza epidemics. Importance: Human influenza A viruses continuously change antigenically to circumvent the immune protection evoked by vaccination or previously circulating viral strains. To maintain vaccine protection and thereby reduce the mortality and morbidity caused by infections, regular updates of the vaccine strains are required. We have developed a data-driven framework for vaccine strain prediction which facilitates the computational analysis of genetic and antigenic data and does not rely on explicit evolutionary models. Our computational decision procedure generated good matches of the vaccine strain to the circulating predominant strain for most seasons and could be used to support the expert-guided prediction made by the WHO; it thus may allow an increase in vaccine efficacy.
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Aita T, Ichihashi N, Yomo T. Probabilistic model based error correction in a set of various mutant sequences analyzed by next-generation sequencing. Comput Biol Chem 2013; 47:221-30. [PMID: 24184706 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiolchem.2013.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2013] [Revised: 09/13/2013] [Accepted: 09/27/2013] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
To analyze the evolutionary dynamics of a mutant population in an evolutionary experiment, it is necessary to sequence a vast number of mutants by high-throughput (next-generation) sequencing technologies, which enable rapid and parallel analysis of multikilobase sequences. However, the observed sequences include many errors of base call. Therefore, if next-generation sequencing is applied to analysis of a heterogeneous population of various mutant sequences, it is necessary to discriminate between true bases as point mutations and errors of base call in the observed sequences, and to subject the sequences to error-correction processes. To address this issue, we have developed a novel method of error correction based on the Potts model and a maximum a posteriori probability (MAP) estimate of its parameters corresponding to the "true sequences". Our method of error correction utilizes (1) the "quality scores" which are assigned to individual bases in the observed sequences and (2) the neighborhood relationship among the observed sequences mapped in sequence space. The computer experiments of error correction of artificially generated sequences supported the effectiveness of our method, showing that 50-90% of errors were removed. Interestingly, this method is analogous to a probabilistic model based method of image restoration developed in the field of information engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takuyo Aita
- Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Yamadaoka 1-5, Suita, Osaka, Japan
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20
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Green D, Mason C. The maintenance of sex: Ronald Fisher meets the Red Queen. BMC Evol Biol 2013; 13:174. [PMID: 23962342 PMCID: PMC3765275 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-13-174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2013] [Accepted: 08/14/2013] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Sex in higher diploids carries a two-fold cost of males that should reduce its fitness relative to cloning, and result in its extinction. Instead, sex is widespread and clonal species face early obsolescence. One possible reason is that sex is an adaptation that allows organisms to respond more effectively to endless changes in their environment. The purpose of this study was to model mutation and selection in a diploid organism in an evolving environment and ascertain their support for sex. Results We used a computational approach to model finite populations where a haploid environment subjects a diploid host to endlessly evolving change. Evolution in both populations is primarily through adoption of novel advantageous mutations within a large allele space. Sex outcompetes cloning by two complementary mechanisms. First, sexual diploids adopt advantageous homozygous mutations more rapidly than clonal ones under conditions of lag load (the gap between the actual adaptation of the diploid population and its theoretical optimum). This rate advantage can offset the higher fecundity of cloning. Second, a relative advantage to sex emerges where populations are significantly polymorphic, because clonal polymorphism runs the risk of clonal interference caused by selection on numerous lines of similar adaptation. This interference extends allele lifetime and reduces the rate of adaptation. Sex abolishes the interference, making selection faster and elevating population fitness. Differences in adaptation between sexual and clonal populations increase markedly with the number of loci under selection, the rate of mutation in the host, and a rapidly evolving environment. Clonal interference in these circumstances leads to conditions where the greater fecundity of clones is unable to offset their poor adaptation. Sexual and clonal populations then either co-exist, or sex emerges as the more stable evolutionary strategy. Conclusions Sex can out-compete clones in a rapidly evolving environment, such as that characterized by pathogens, where clonal interference reduces the adaptation of clonal populations and clones adopt advantageous mutations more slowly. Since all organisms carry parasitic loads, the model is of potentially general applicability.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Green
- Department of Anatomy, University of Otago Medical School, Great King Street, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand.
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21
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Illingworth CJR, Mustonen V. Components of selection in the evolution of the influenza virus: linkage effects beat inherent selection. PLoS Pathog 2012; 8:e1003091. [PMID: 23300444 PMCID: PMC3531508 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1003091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2012] [Accepted: 11/05/2012] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The influenza virus is an important human pathogen, with a rapid rate of evolution in the human population. The rate of homologous recombination within genes of influenza is essentially zero. As such, where two alleles within the same gene are in linkage disequilibrium, interference between alleles will occur, whereby selection acting upon one allele has an influence upon the frequency of the other. We here measured the relative importance of selection and interference effects upon the evolution of influenza. We considered time-resolved allele frequency data from the global evolutionary history of the haemagglutinin gene of human influenza A/H3N2, conducting an in-depth analysis of sequences collected since 1996. Using a model that accounts for selection-caused interference between alleles in linkage disequilibrium, we estimated the inherent selective benefit of individual polymorphisms in the viral population. These inherent selection coefficients were in turn used to calculate the total selective effect of interference acting upon each polymorphism, considering the effect of the initial background upon which a mutation arose, and the subsequent effect of interference from other alleles that were under selection. Viewing events in retrospect, we estimated the influence of each of these components in determining whether a mutant allele eventually fixed or died in the global viral population. Our inherent selection coefficients, when combined across different regions of the protein, were consistent with previous measurements of dN/dS for the same system. Alleles going on to fix in the global population tended to be under more positive selection, to arise on more beneficial backgrounds, and to avoid strong negative interference from other alleles under selection. However, on average, the fate of a polymorphism was determined more by the combined influence of interference effects than by its inherent selection coefficient. Success in life is the product of many factors. Inherent ability often underlies great achievement. But other factors may play their part. The circumstances a child is born into may help or hinder his or her progress. Later events also have their effect; a life may be influenced by a lucky break, or an unforeseen disaster. In this work, we examine the factors underlying success for mutations in the HA gene of human influenza virus A/H3N2, defining success as the attainment of a high frequency in the global population. We examined the history of the gene from 1968 until 2010. For each observed mutation, a mathematical model was used to estimate the inherent benefit or disadvantage it conferred to the virus. We calculated the advantageousness or otherwise of the background upon which it arose, and the subsequent effect of interference from other mutations under selection. We found that successful mutations tended to have an advantageous background, and were subsequently fortunate in avoiding negative events throughout their lifetime. Beneficial mutations were more likely to be successful. But a mutation's chances of success were influenced more by circumstances of birth and subsequent events, than by its inherent effect on the virus.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ville Mustonen
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- * E-mail: (CJRI); (VM)
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22
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Steinbrück L, McHardy AC. Inference of genotype-phenotype relationships in the antigenic evolution of human influenza A (H3N2) viruses. PLoS Comput Biol 2012; 8:e1002492. [PMID: 22532796 PMCID: PMC3330098 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002492] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2011] [Accepted: 03/09/2012] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Distinguishing mutations that determine an organism's phenotype from (near-) neutral ‘hitchhikers’ is a fundamental challenge in genome research, and is relevant for numerous medical and biotechnological applications. For human influenza viruses, recognizing changes in the antigenic phenotype and a strains' capability to evade pre-existing host immunity is important for the production of efficient vaccines. We have developed a method for inferring ‘antigenic trees’ for the major viral surface protein hemagglutinin. In the antigenic tree, antigenic weights are assigned to all tree branches, which allows us to resolve the antigenic impact of the associated amino acid changes. Our technique predicted antigenic distances with comparable accuracy to antigenic cartography. Additionally, it identified both known and novel sites, and amino acid changes with antigenic impact in the evolution of influenza A (H3N2) viruses from 1968 to 2003. The technique can also be applied for inference of ‘phenotype trees’ and genotype–phenotype relationships from other types of pairwise phenotype distances. The molecular evolution of any organism is described by changes in the genotype resulting from genetic drift or selection to maintain or establish fitness under the given environmental conditions. Identification of phenotype-defining changes and their distinction from (near-) neutral (‘hitchhikers’) ones is a fundamental challenge in genome research. The standard approach involves time- and cost-intensive mutation experiments, which are typically low throughput, due to their experimental nature. We have developed a computational method for the inference of phenotypic impact of genotypic changes that is applicable to any system, within or across species, where homologous genetic sequences and associated pairwise phenotype distances are available. We demonstrate the accuracy of our method by application to the human influenza A (H3N2) virus. This exemplary system is of particular interest, as recognizing changes in the antigenic phenotype and a viral strains' capability to evade pre-existing host immunity is important for the production of efficient vaccines. We accurately identified known sites and amino acid changes with antigenic impact over 35 years of evolution, and provide further details on individual antigenically relevant changes in the evolution of influenza A (H3N2) viruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lars Steinbrück
- Department for Algorithmic Bioinformatics, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Max-Planck Research Group for Computational Genomics and Epidemiology, Max-Planck Institute for Informatics, Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Alice Carolyn McHardy
- Department for Algorithmic Bioinformatics, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Max-Planck Research Group for Computational Genomics and Epidemiology, Max-Planck Institute for Informatics, Saarbrücken, Germany
- * E-mail:
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23
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Tusche C, Steinbrück L, McHardy AC. Detecting patches of protein sites of influenza A viruses under positive selection. Mol Biol Evol 2012; 29:2063-71. [PMID: 22427709 PMCID: PMC3408068 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/mss095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Influenza A viruses are single-stranded RNA viruses capable of evolving rapidly to adapt to environmental conditions. Examples include the establishment of a virus in a novel host or an adaptation to increasing immunity within the host population due to prior infection or vaccination against a circulating strain. Knowledge of the viral protein regions under positive selection is therefore crucial for surveillance. We have developed a method for detecting positively selected patches of sites on the surface of viral proteins, which we assume to be relevant for adaptive evolution. We measure positive selection based on dN/dS ratios of genetic changes inferred by considering the phylogenetic structure of the data and suggest a graph-cut algorithm to identify such regions. Our algorithm searches for dense and spatially distinct clusters of sites under positive selection on the protein surface. For the hemagglutinin protein of human influenza A viruses of the subtypes H3N2 and H1N1, our predicted sites significantly overlap with known antigenic and receptor-binding sites. From the structure and sequence data of the 2009 swine-origin influenza A/H1N1 hemagglutinin and PB2 protein, we identified regions that provide evidence of evolution under positive selection since introduction of the virus into the human population. The changes in PB2 overlap with sites reported to be associated with mammalian adaptation of the influenza A virus. Application of our technique to the protein structures of viruses of yet unknown adaptive behavior could identify further candidate regions that are important for host–virus interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Tusche
- Max Planck Research Group for Computational Genomics and Epidemiology, Max Planck Institute for Informatics, Saarbrücken, Germany
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24
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Du X, Dong L, Lan Y, Peng Y, Wu A, Zhang Y, Huang W, Wang D, Wang M, Guo Y, Shu Y, Jiang T. Mapping of H3N2 influenza antigenic evolution in China reveals a strategy for vaccine strain recommendation. Nat Commun 2012; 3:709. [PMID: 22426230 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2011] [Accepted: 01/26/2012] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
One of the primary efforts in influenza vaccine strain recommendation is to monitor through gene sequencing the viral surface protein haemagglutinin (HA) variants that lead to viral antigenic changes. Here we have developed a computational method, denoted as PREDAC, to predict antigenic clusters of influenza A (H3N2) viruses with high accuracy from viral HA sequences. Application of PREDAC to large-scale HA sequence data of H3N2 viruses isolated from diverse regions of Mainland China identified 17 antigenic clusters that have dominated for at least one season between 1968 and 2010. By tracking the dynamics of the dominant antigenic clusters, we not only find that dominant antigenic clusters change more frequently in China than in the United States/Europe, but also characterize the antigenic patterns of seasonal H3N2 viruses within China. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the coupling of large-scale HA sequencing with PREDAC can significantly improve vaccine strain recommendation for China.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiangjun Du
- Key Laboratory of Protein and Peptide Pharmaceuticals, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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25
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Oberg AL, Kennedy RB, Li P, Ovsyannikova IG, Poland GA. Systems biology approaches to new vaccine development. Curr Opin Immunol 2011; 23:436-43. [PMID: 21570272 DOI: 10.1016/j.coi.2011.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2011] [Revised: 04/11/2011] [Accepted: 04/12/2011] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The current 'isolate, inactivate, inject' vaccine development strategy has served the field of vaccinology well, and such empirical vaccine candidate development has even led to the eradication of smallpox. However, such an approach suffers from limitations, and as an empirical approach, does not fully utilize our knowledge of immunology and genetics. A more complete understanding of the biological processes culminating in disease resistance is needed. The advent of high-dimensional assay technology and 'systems biology' along with a vaccinomics approach [1,2•] is spawning a new era in the science of vaccine development. Here we review recent developments in systems biology and strategies for applying this approach and its resulting data to expand our knowledge base and drive directed development of new vaccines. We also provide applied examples and point out new directions for the field in order to illustrate the power of systems biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ann L Oberg
- Division of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics, Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
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26
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Bhatt S, Holmes EC, Pybus OG. The genomic rate of molecular adaptation of the human influenza A virus. Mol Biol Evol 2011; 28:2443-51. [PMID: 21415025 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msr044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 118] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Quantifying adaptive evolution at the genomic scale is an essential yet challenging aspect of evolutionary biology. Here, we develop a method that extends and generalizes previous approaches to estimate the rate of genomic adaptation in rapidly evolving populations and apply it to a large data set of complete human influenza A virus genome sequences. In accord with previous studies, we observe particularly high rates of adaptive evolution in domain 1 of the viral hemagglutinin (HA1). However, our novel approach also reveals previously unseen adaptation in other viral genes. Notably, we find that the rate of adaptation (per codon per year) is higher in surface residues of the viral neuraminidase than in HA1, indicating strong antibody-mediated selection on the former. We also observed high rates of adaptive evolution in several nonstructural proteins, which may relate to viral evasion of T-cell and innate immune responses. Furthermore, our analysis provides strong quantitative support for the hypothesis that human H1N1 influenza experiences weaker antigenic selection than H3N2. As well as shedding new light on the dynamics and determinants of positive Darwinian selection in influenza viruses, the approach introduced here is applicable to other pathogens for which densely sampled genome sequences are available, and hence is ideally suited to the interpretation of next-generation genome sequencing data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samir Bhatt
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
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