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. 2005 Jan 11;102(2):379-84.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.0406765102. Epub 2004 Dec 30.

High rate of viral evolution associated with the emergence of carnivore parvovirus

Laura A Shackelton  1 , Colin R Parrish, Uwe Truyen, Edward C Holmes
Affiliations

High rate of viral evolution associated with the emergence of carnivore parvovirus

Laura A Shackelton et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. .

Abstract

Canine parvovirus (CPV) is an emerging DNA virus that was first observed to cause disease in canines in 1978 and has since become a ubiquitous pathogen worldwide. CPV emerged from feline panleukopenia parvovirus (FPLV) or a closely related virus, differing at several key amino acid residues. Here we characterize the evolutionary processes underlying the emergence of CPV. Although FPLV has remained an endemic infection in its host populations, we show that, since the 1970s, the newly emerged CPV has undergone an epidemic-like pattern of logistic/exponential growth, effectively doubling its population size every few years. This rapid population growth was associated with a lineage of CPV that acquired a broader host range and greater infectivity. Recombination played no role in the emergence of CPV. Rather, any preexisting variation in the donor species and the subsequent rapid adaptation of the virus to canines were likely dependent on a high rate of mutation and the positive selection of mutations in the major capsid gene. Strikingly, although these single-stranded viruses have a DNA genome and use cellular replication machinery, their rate of nucleotide substitution is closer to that of RNA viruses than to that of double-stranded DNA viruses.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
ML phylogenetic tree of 91 VP2 gene sequences from carnivore parvoviruses. The tree is rooted with the oldest sampled sequence. Bootstrap values are shown for relevant nodes. Other nodes with >70% support are marked with an asterisk. Horizontal branch lengths are drawn to scale. The name of each isolate is followed by the location and year of isolation. Locations are coded as follows: UK, United Kingdom; US, United States; JA, Japan; FR, France; AU, Australia; FI, Finland; GE, Germany; TA, Taiwan; NZ, New Zealand; VI, Vietnam; EU, Europe (no further information available); PO, Poland; IT, Italy; SA, South Africa. The FPLV clade is shown in blue, the CPV2 subclade is shown in yellow, and the CPV2a subclade is shown in red. BFPV, blue fox parvovirus.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
A projection of one asymmetric unit of the icosahedral CPV capsid, showing the locations of substituted amino acids. Sites that changed along the FPLV→ CPV branch are in blue, with the darker shade indicating surface-exposed residues and the lighter shade showing the relative positions of subsurface sites. Sites that underwent substitutions along the CPV→ CPV2a branch are in green, and sites responsible for variants within the CPV2a subclade are in yellow; all are surface-exposed.
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