HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Ebel, G. D. Articles by Telford, S. R. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Ebel, G. D. Articles by Telford, S. R., III Agricola Articles by Ebel, G. D. Articles by Telford, S. R.

Phylogeny of North American Powassan virus

Laboratory of Public Health Entomology, Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA¹

Authors for correspondence: Gregory Ebel (Present address: Arbovirus Unit of the Wadsworth Center’s Griffin Laboratory, 5668 State Farm Rd., Slingerlands, NY 12159, USA; Fax +1 518 869 4530; e-mail ebel{at}wadsworth.org) and Sam Telford (Fax +1 617 432 1796; e-mail stelford@hsph.harvard.edu).

To determine whether Powassan virus (POW) and deer tick virus (DTV) constitute distinct flaviviral populations transmitted by ixodid ticks in North America, we analysed diverse nucleotide sequences from 16 strains of these viruses. Two distinct genetic lineages are evident, which may be defined by geographical and host associations. The nucleotide and amino acid sequences of lineage one (comprising New York and Canadian POW isolates) are highly conserved across time and space, but those of lineage two (comprising isolates from deer ticks and a fox) are more variable. The divergence between lineages is much greater than the variation within either lineage, and lineage two appears to be more diverse genetically than is lineage one. Application of McDonald–Kreitman tests to the sequences of these strains indicates that adaptive evolution of the envelope protein separates lineage one from lineage two. The two POW lineages circulating in North America possess a pattern of genetic diversity suggesting that they comprise distinct subtypes that may perpetuate in separate enzootic cycles.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				G. Jerzak, K. A. Bernard, L. D. Kramer, and G. D. Ebel Genetic variation in West Nile virus from naturally infected mosquitoes and birds suggests quasispecies structure and strong purifying selection J. Gen. Virol., August 1, 2005; 86(8): 2175 - 2183. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. D. EBEL, J. CARRICABURU, D. YOUNG, K. A. BERNARD, and L. D. KRAMER GENETIC AND PHENOTYPIC VARIATION OF WEST NILE VIRUS IN NEW YORK, 2000-2003 Am J Trop Med Hyg, October 1, 2004; 71(4): 493 - 500. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J.-P. Mutebi, R. C. A. Rijnbrand, H. Wang, K. D. Ryman, E. Wang, L. D. Fulop, R. Titball, and A. D. T. Barrett Genetic Relationships and Evolution of Genotypes of Yellow Fever Virus and Other Members of the Yellow Fever Virus Group within the Flavivirus Genus Based on the 3' Noncoding Region J. Virol., September 15, 2004; 78(18): 9652 - 9665. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. D. EBEL and L. D. KRAMER SHORT REPORT: DURATION OF TICK ATTACHMENT REQUIRED FOR TRANSMISSION OF POWASSAN VIRUS BY DEER TICKS Am J Trop Med Hyg, September 1, 2004; 71(3): 268 - 271. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				O. V. Morozova, A. K. Dobrotvorsky, N. N. Livanova, S. E. Tkachev, V. N. Bakhvalova, A. B. Beklemishev, and F. C. Cabello PCR Detection of Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato, Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus, and the Human Granulocytic Ehrlichiosis Agent in Ixodes persulcatus Ticks from Western Siberia, Russia J. Clin. Microbiol., October 1, 2002; 40(10): 3802 - 3804. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Outbreak of Powassan Encephalitis--Maine and Vermont, 1999-2001 JAMA, October 24, 2001; 286(16): 1962 - 1963. [Full Text] [PDF]