BioMed Central

Virology Journal

Open Access

Research Genetic diversity of the E Protein of Dengue Type 3 Virus Alberto A Amarilla1, Flavia T de Almeida2, Daniel M Jorge3, Helda L Alfonso1, Luiza A de Castro-Jorge1, Nadia A Nogueira4, Luiz T Figueiredo1 and Victor H Aquino*2

Address: 1Virology Research Center, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto/USP, Ribeirão Preto – SP, Brazil, 2Department of Clinical, Toxicological and Bromatological Analysis, FCFRP/USP, Ribeirão Preto – SP, Brazil, 3Bioinformatics Laboratory, Department of Genetics, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto/USP, Ribeirão Preto – SP, Brazil and 4Department of Toxicological and Clinical Analysis, Federal University of Ceara, Brazil

Email: Alberto A Amarilla - alberilla@yahoo.com.ar; Flavia T de Almeida - flavia_tche@yahoo.com.br; Daniel M Jorge - danielmacedo.jorge@gmail.com; Helda L Alfonso - alfonso_helda@yahoo.com.ar; Luiza A de Castro- Jorge - luizacastro@gmail.com; Nadia A Nogueira - acciolyufc@gmail.com; Luiz T Figueiredo - ltmfigue@fmrp.usp.br; Victor H Aquino* - vhugo@fcfrp.usp.br * Corresponding author

Published: 23 July 2009

Received: 28 April 2009 Accepted: 23 July 2009

Virology Journal 2009, 6:113

doi:10.1186/1743-422X-6-113

This article is available from: http://www.virologyj.com/content/6/1/113

© 2009 Amarilla et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract Background: Dengue is the most important arbovirus disease in tropical and subtropical countries. The viral envelope (E) protein is responsible for cell receptor binding and is the main target of neutralizing antibodies. The aim of this study was to analyze the diversity of the E protein gene of DENV-3. E protein gene sequences of 20 new viruses isolated in Ribeirao Preto, Brazil, and 427 sequences retrieved from GenBank were aligned for diversity and phylogenetic analysis.

Results: Comparison of the E protein gene sequences revealed the presence of 47 variable sites distributed in the protein; most of those amino acids changes are located on the viral surface. The phylogenetic analysis showed the distribution of DENV-3 in four genotypes. Genotypes I, II and III revealed internal groups that we have called lineages and sub-lineages. All amino acids that characterize a group (genotype, lineage, or sub-lineage) are located in the 47 variable sites of the E protein.

Conclusion: Our results provide information about the most frequent amino acid changes and diversity of the E protein of DENV-3.

Background During the first decades of the 20th century, dengue was considered a sporadic disease, causing epidemics at long intervals. However, dramatic changes in this pattern have occurred and, currently, dengue is the most important mosquito-borne viral disease worldwide. Approximately, 3 billion people are at risk of acquiring dengue viral infec- tions in more than 100 countries in tropical and subtropi- cal regions. Annually, it is estimated that 100 million

cases of DF and half a million cases of dengue DHF/DSS occur worldwide resulting in approximately 25,000 deaths [1]. Dengue disease can be caused by any of the four antigenically related viruses named dengue virus type 1, 2, 3 and 4 (DENV-1, -2, -3 and -4). All of these serotypes can cause a large spectrum of clinical presentations, rang- ing from asymptomatic infection to dengue fever (DF) and to the most severe form, dengue haemorrhagic fever/ dengue shock syndrome (DHF/DSS). Early diagnosis of

Page 1 of 13 (page number not for citation purposes)

Virology Journal 2009, 6:113

http://www.virologyj.com/content/6/1/113

dengue virus infection, which can be achieved by detect- ing a viral protein or genome, is important for patient management and control of dengue outbreaks [2].

American, American/Asian, Cosmopolitan and Sylvatic [23,24,28]. DENV-3 was classified into four genotypes: genotype I comprises viruses from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and the South Pacific islands; genotype II comprises viruses from Thailand; genotype III is repre- sented by viruses from Sri Lanka, India, Africa and Amer- ica; genotype IV comprises Puerto Rican viruses. Recently, it has been suggested that exist an additional group that was named genotype V [25,29]. DENV-4 was classified into two genetically distinct genotypes. Genotype I includes viruses from the Philippines, Thailand and Sri Lanka; genotype II includes viruses from Indonesia, Tahiti, Caribbean Islands (Puerto Rico, Dominica) and Central and South America [30]. A third genotype of DENV-4 was identified which includes sylvatic isolates that formed a distinct genotype [27].

Dengue is an enveloped virus with a single-stranded, pos- itive-sense RNA genome of about 11 kb containing a sin- gle open reading frame, flanked by untranslated regions (5' and 3' UTR) [3]. The viral RNA encodes a single poly- protein, which is co- and pos-translationally cleaved into 3 structural (C, prM and E) and 7 nonstructural proteins (NS1-NS2A-NS2B-NS3-NS4A-NS4B-NS5) proteins [4]. The envelope (E) glycoprotein is the major component of the virion external surface, responsible for important phe- notypic and immunogenic properties. E protein is a mul- tifunctional protein, which is involved in cell receptor binding and virus entry via fusion with host cell mem- branes. Thus, E protein is the main target of neutralizing antibodies [5-10]. The crystal structure analysis of this protein revealed that it includes three domains (I, II, and III) that exhibit significant structural conservation when compared to other flaviviruses [11]. For flaviviruses, most of amino acid residues related to host range determinant, tropism and virulence are located in domain III [12,13].

Increased numbers of DENV sequences in the GenBank has given a better picture of the genetic diversity of these viruses, suggesting the existence of intragenotipic groups within each genotype. Identification of these groups will lead to a better understanding of the migration pattern of the viruses, as well as the detection of emergent viruses with altered antigenicity, virulence, or tissue tropism. In this study, we have analyzed the variability of the E pro- tein gene of DENV-3 by comparison of new and GenBank deposited sequences and found several lineage and sub- lineages within the different genotypes.

Results Nucleotide sequences of the E protein gene (1479 bp) of 20 DENV-3 strains isolated in Ribeirao Preto and 427 sequences retrieved from the GenBank were included in this study. These sequences represent viruses isolated between 1956 and 2007. After an initial analysis, 75 iden- tical sequences, three recombinant strains, two mutants, one rare, and five sequences corresponding to the same five strains deposited with different access codes were excluded from the study (Additional file 1) [29,31]. Thus, 361 sequences were used to analyze the E protein diversity and the phylogenetic relationship of the viruses.

To analyze the diversity of the E protein, nucleotide sequences were aligned and compared. Any of the 1479 sites in the alignment were considered a variable site when at least one virus showed a nucleotide substitution at that site. By this criteria, 634 variable sites were found to be evenly distributed in the E protein gene; 157 of these showed non-synonymous substitutions (substitutions in the codon that induce amino acid changes) (Additional file 2). Seventy non-synonymous substitutions sites were observed only in one virus, 28 sites in two viruses and 59 sites in three or more viruses.

Similar to other RNA viruses, DENV exhibit a high degree of genetic variation due to the non-proofreading activity of the viral RNA polymerase, rapid rates of replication, immense population size, and immunological pressure [14]. Historically, variants within each DENV serotype have been classified in different ways, accompanying tech- nological progress. Studies from the seventies showed the existence of antigenic variants within DENV-3 showing that DENV-3 strains from Puerto Rico and Tahiti were antigenically and biologically different from those of Asia [15]. In the eighties, the term "topotype", based on RNA fingerprinting, was used to define five genetic variants within DENV-2 [16,17]. Other molecular methods such as cDNA-RNA hybridization, hybridization using syn- thetic oligonucleotides, and restriction endonuclease analysis of RT-PCR products were also used to demon- strate the existence of genetic variability within each sero- type [18-22]. In the nineties, the use of nucleic acid sequencing methods and phylogenetic analysis allowed the identification of different genomic groups, called "genotypes" or "subtypes", within each DENV serotype [23-25]. Today, several geographically distinct genotypes are described within each serotype. Thus, DENV-1 includes five genotypes: genotype I contains viruses from the Americas, Africa, and Southeast Asia; genotype II includes a single isolate from Sri Lanka; genotype III includes a strain from Japan isolated in 1943; genotype IV includes strains from Southeast Asia, the South Pacific, Australia, and Mexico; and genotype V group contains viruses from Taiwan and Thailand [23,26,27]. DENV-2 encompasses six genotypes denominated Asian I, Asian II,

Page 2 of 13 (page number not for citation purposes)

Virology Journal 2009, 6:113

http://www.virologyj.com/content/6/1/113

Based on the aligned nucleotide sequences, several phylo- genetic analysis including maximum parsimony and dis- tance methods were performed and all approaches yielded identical or nearly identical topologies. The phyl- ogenetic tree showed four genetic groups within the DENV-3 (Figure 1) where genotype I was represented by strains from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and the South Pacific islands; genotype II included mainly isolates from Thailand; genotype III was represented mainly by viruses from Sri Lanka and Latin America and genotype IV comprised Puerto Rican viruses.

showed that these viruses form two different clades that were denominated lineage I and II. The nucleotide sequence comparison showed the presence of 348 varia- ble sites in the 1479 nucleotides of the E protein gene with 40 of them considered informative sites. Non-synony- mous substitutions were observed in seven informative sites (Table 1). Amino acid residues 231, 303 and 391 were found to be located in solvent-exposed loops, resi- dues 68 and 169 in hydrophobic regions (Additional file 4B). Residues 479 and 489 were located in the transmem- brane region.

The phylogenetic tree showed that lineage II included two sub-lineages (Figure 2). The comparison of nucleotide sequences (n = 68) showed the presence of 318 variable sites within members of this lineage, six of them being informative sites with synonymous substitutions (Table 1).

Genotype II Genotype II included 144 viruses that were grouped into two lineages (Figure 3). Comparison of these sequences showed 392 variable sites; four of them being informative sites with synonymous substitutions (Table 2). Lineage I included 62 sequences that form two sub-lineages with 255 variable sites; 17 of them were considered informa- tive sites and three had non-synonymous substitutions (Table 3). The amino acid residue 140 was located in a β- strand exposed in the surface of the protein; residues 447 and 489 were in the transmembrane domain (Additional file 4C). Lineage II included 83 viruses distributed in two sub-lineages. The comparison of these sequences showed 275 variable sites with only two informative sites, which showed synonymous substitutions (Table 2).

For a better characterization of the genetic groups, E pro- tein gene sequences of all viruses were compared manu- ally. As mentioned above, 634 variable sites were observed within the 1479 nucleotides of the E protein gene (Additional file 2). Variable sites with nucleotide substitutions in at least 90% of the members of any geno- type were considered informative sites. Thus, 95 of the 634 were considered informative sites. Among these 95, 18 sites were in the domain I of E protein, 28 in domain II, 27 in domain III, and 22 in the transmembrane domain (Additional file 3). Each genotype showed a char- acteristic nucleotide sequence when the informative sites were analyzed. Nucleotide substitution in the informative sites was mostly due to transitions (80 sites, 81%) rather than transversions (21 sites, 19%). Nucleotide substitu- tion were more frequent in the 3rd position (74 sites, 78%) of the codon, followed by the first position (15 sites, 16%) and finally, the second position (6 sites, 6%). Non-synonymous substitutions were observed in 14 (15%) of the 95 informative sites (residues 22, 81, 132, 154, 160, 270, 301, 302, 380, 383, 386, 430, 452 and 459). Three non-synonymous substitutions were identi- fied in domain I, three in domain II, five in domain III, and three in the transmembrane domain (Additional file 3). Based on the tertiary structure of the E protein of DENV-3 (36), it was observed that amino acid residues 81, 132, 154, 270, 301, 302, 380, and 383 were located in solvent-exposed loops. Residues 22 and 386 were located in β-strands exposed on the viral surface. The residue 160 was located in a hydrophobic region. Residues 430, 452 and 459 were located in the transmembrane region (Addi- tional file 4A).

Intragenotipic groups Careful analysis of the topology of the phylogenetic tree suggests the existence of intragenotipic groups (Figure 1). To better characterize these internal groups, protein E gene sequences of members of each genotype were inde- pendently analyzed.

Genotype I A phylogenetic tree was constructed using 76 protein E gene sequences of genotype I viruses (Figure 2). The tree

Genotype III Genotype III was composed of 138 sequences grouped in two lineages (Figure 4). Sequences comparison showed 321 variable sites with 11 informative sites, all of them with synonymous substitutions. Lineage I included 29 sequences grouped into sub-lineage I and II with 123 var- iable sites with only one of them considered as informa- tive site, which showed a synonymous substitution (Table 3). The lineage II included 108 sequences forming two groups, sub-lineage I and II; these sequences showed 250 variable sites and only seven of them were considered as informative sites, all of them were synonymous substitu- tions (Table 3). The sub-lineage II of lineage II included the 20 viruses isolated in Ribeirao Preto, SP, Brazil, between 2006–2007. These viruses were more closely related to those isolated in other regions of Brazil than to viruses that circulated in Ribeirao Preto, in 2003 (D3BR/ RP1/2003 and D3BR/RP2/2003). They formed two groups, one more closely related to the strain D3BR/CU6/ 2002 isolated in Cuiabá close to the border with Bolivia

Page 3 of 13 (page number not for citation purposes)

Virology Journal 2009, 6:113

http://www.virologyj.com/content/6/1/113

VietN BID V1014 2006 TW 05 807KH0509a Tw VietN BID V1018 2006 Viet0310b Tw Viet0507a Tw VietN BID V1015 2006 VietN BID V1017 2006 VietN BID V1016 2006 VietN BID V1009 2006 VietN BID V1011 2006 VietN BID V1012 2006 VietN BID V1008 2006 Viet0409a Tw VietN BID V1010 2006 Viet9809a Tw Viet9609a Tw VietN BID V1013 2006 ThD3 1959 01 ThD3 0835 01 ThD3 0377 98 ThD3 0092 98 ThD3 0058 97 ThD3 0115 99 ThD3 0595 99 ThD3 1017 00 Thail 03 0308a Tw ThD3 0903 98 ThD3 0650 97 ThD3 1687 98 Thal D93 044 93 ThD3 0240 92 Thail D94 283 94 Thail D95 0014 95 ThD3 0123 95 Thail D92 423 92 ThD3 0989 00 Ja 00 40 1HuNIID 00 ThD3 0328 02 ThD3 0723 99 Thail 02 0211a Tw ThD3 1094 01 ThD3 1283 98 ThD3 0343 98 ThD3 0006 97 ThD3 0411 97 ThD3 1309 97 Tw 98 701TN9811a 98TWmosq 98 98TW368 98 98TW407 98 Thail 97 9709a Tw ThD3 0005 96 Thail 98 9807a Ja 96 17 1HuNIID 96 ThD3 0472 93 Thail D96 330 96 ThD3 0195 94 Thail D97 0144 97 ThD3 0546 98 Thail C0360 94 ThD3 0808 98 ThD3 0514 98 ThD3 0436 97 ThD3 1465 97 Thail 98 KPS 4 0657 207 Thail D96 313 96 Thail D97 0106 97 ThD3 0810 98 Thail D97 0291 97 Thail C0331 94 94 ThD3 0396 94 ThD3 0104 93 ThD3 0077 98 Thail D93 674 93 Thail D94 122 94 ThD3 0654 01 ThD3 0111 02

Genotype II

ThD3 0089 95 ThD3 0969 01 Thail D95 0400 95 ThD3 0182 96 ThD3 0188 91 Indo 98 98901590 Indo 98 98901640 BDH02 2 02 BDH02 5 02 BDH02 6 02 BDH Jacob 01 Bang0108a Tw BDH02 3 02 BDH02 7 02 BDH02 4 02 BDH02 1 02 BDH02 8 02 BDH Apu 01 BDH 058 00 BDH 114 00 BDH 165 00 Ja 00 27 1HuNIID 00 Myan 05 0508a Tw Thail 87 ThD3 0040 80 ThD3 0012 90 ThD3 0029 90 My 31985KLA 88 98TW182 98 Thail D91 393 91 Thail D92 431 92 ThD3 0396 88 Mal LN7029 94 Mal LN7933 94 ThD3 0213 88 Thail D91 538 91 ThD3 87 Thail 87 1384 87 ThD3 0220 85 ThD3 0065 86 ThD3 0134 83 ThD3 0402 85 ThD3 0183 85 ThD3 1035 87 Ma LN5547 92 Ma LN2632 93

22:D 81:* 132:* 154:D 160:V 270:N 301:L 302:N 380:I 383:K 386:K 430:L 452:I 459:V

100

88

Ma LN6083 94 Ma LN1746 93 Mal LN8180 94 Sing 8120 95 Thail PaH881 88 ThD3 0010 87 Thail D88 086 88 Thail D89 273 89 ThD3 0796 87 ThD3 0033 74 ThD3 73 CH53489D73 1 ThD3 0273 80 ThD3 0059 81 ThD3 0649 80 ThD3 285M 77 ThD3 0059 82 ThD3 0046 83 ThD3 0177 81 ThD3 86 ThD3 0137 84 ThD3 0140 84 In KJ30i 04 In TB55i 04 In TB16 04 NAMRU 2 98901620 In 98901403 DSS DV 3 98 ET D3 Hu Indonesia NIID02 2005 Indo9804a Tw In 98901437 DSS DV 3 98 In 98901517 DHF DV 3 98 NAMRU 2 98901413 In den3 98 In FW01 04 Indo0312a Tw In KJ71 04 In PH86 04 In PI64 04 Indo0508a Tw In FW06 04 In KJ46 04 In BA51 04 ET SV0194 05 ET SV0171 05 ET D3 Hu TL018NIID 2005 ET SV0160 05 ET SV0186 05 ET SV0177 05 ET D3 Hu TL129NIID 2005 ET SV0193 05 ET D3 Hu TL109NIID 2005 ET D3 Hu OPD007NIID 2005 ET SV0153 05 ET SV0174 05 ET D3 Hu TL029NIID 2005 ET209 00 In den3 88 Indo9909a Tw Indo85 Indo9108a Tw Thail D88 303 88 In 98902890 DF DV 3 98 ET D3 Hu Indonesia NIID01 2005 ET D3 Hu Indonesia NIID04 2005 PF92 2986 92 PF92 4190 92 PF92 2956 92

Genotype I

PF89 320219 89 PF89 27643 89 PF90 6056 90 PF90 3056 90 Fiji 92 PF90 3050 90 PF94 136116 94

22:D 81:I 132:H 154:E 160:A 270:T 301:* 302:N 380:I 383:K 386:K 430:L 452:I 459:V

100

73

99

In Sleman 78 Indo73 Malasya 81 Malasya 74 Indo78 Philp 96 9609a Tw Philp 98 9809a Tw 95TW466 95 Tw 94 813KH9408a Tw Tw 05 812KH0508a Tw Philip 05 0508a TW Philp 98 9808a Tw Philp 97 9711a Tw Taiwan 739079A Philip 83 In InJ 16 82 M25277 DENSP5AA M93130 strain H87 China 80 2 BR DEN3 RO1 02 BR H87 AJ563355 Philp 56 H87 Ja D3 73NIID 73 BR D3BR MA1 02 BR D3BR SG2 02 BR D3BR ST14 04 BR D3BR RP2 03 BR DEN3 290 02 BR D3BR GO5 03 D3 BR RP AAF 2007 BR D3BR RP1 03 PY D3PY AS10 03 BR D3BR IG10 03 BR D3BR SL3 02 PY D3PY PJ4 03 PY D3PY PJ5 03 PY D3PY PJ6 03 BR D3BR PV1 03 BR D3BR PV3 03 BR D3BR PV4 03 BR D3BR PV5 02 BR DEN3 97 04 BR DEN3 95 04 BR DEN3 98 04 D3 H IMTSSA MART 2000 1567 D3 H IMTSSA MART 2000 1706 Cuba116 00 BR D3BR BV4 02 D3 H IMTSSA MART 2001 2336 D3 H IMTSSA MART 2001 2012 D3 H IMTSSA MART 1999 1243 D3 BR RP 2404 2006 D3 BR RP 2591 2006 D3 BR RP Val 2006 D3 BR RP 2198 2006 D3 BR RP 1651 2006 BR D3BR BR8 04 BR D3BR MR9 03 D3BR RP 1690 2006 D3 BR RP 1573 2006 D3 BR RP 2131 2006 D3 BR RP 1604 2006 D3 BR RP 2065 2006 D3 BR RP 554 2006 PY D3PY AS12 02 PY D3PY YA2 03 Bv FSB 439 2003 PY D3PY FM11 03 BR D3BR CU6 02 PtoR BID V1043 2006 PtoR BID V1078 2003 D3 H IMTSSA MART 2001 2023 BR74886 02 Peru FST312 Tumbes 2004 Peru OBT2812 Piura 2003 Peru FST145 Tumbes 2003 Peru FSP581 Piura 2001 Peru OBS8852 2000 Peru OBS8857 2000 Peru OBT1467 Tumbes 2001 Peru FST289 Tumbes 2004 Peru FST 346 Tumbes 2004 Cuba580 01 Cuba21 02 Peru FSL706 Loreto 2002 Peru FSL1212 Yurimaguas 2004 Peru IQD5132 Iquitos 2003 Peru IQD1728 Iquitos 2002 Peru MFI624 Iquitos Jan.2005 Peru OBT4024 Lima Comas 2005 BR Bel73318 BR GOI1099 BR MTO3103 BR 68784 00 BR GOI1100 Venz LARD5990 00

Genotype III

100

Venz LARD6667 VEN BID V906 2001 Venz LARD6315 00 Venz LARD6722 Venz LARD6666 Venz C02 003 Maracay 2001 Venz C09 006 Maracay 2001 VEN BID V904 2001 Venz LARD7110 VEN BID V913 2001 Venz LARD6411 Venz LARD6668 Venz LARD6318 00 Venz LARD7812 Venz LARD7984 Venz LARD6397 00 Venz C29 008 Maracay 2003 Venz C23 009 Maracay 2003 PtoR BID V858 2003 PtoR BID V1049 1998 PtoR BID V1050 1998 PtoR BID V859 1998 PtoR BID V1075 1998 6889 QUINTANA ROO MX 97 MEX6097 95 6883 YUCATAN MX 97 6584 YUCATAN MX 96 MX 00 OAXACA 4841 YUCATAN MX 95 PANAMA 94 Nicaragua24 94 BR CEA4739 BR RGN576 BR AM2394 BR ROR3832 Srilanka 89 Srilanka 91 SOMALIA 93 S142 Ja 00 28 1HuNIID 00 Srilanka 81

22:D 81:V 132:Y 154:E 160:A 270:N 301:T 302:N 380:* 383:N 386:K 430:L 452:V 459:V

100

Srilanka 85 Samoa 86 India 84 D3 SG 05K3325DK1 2005 D3 SG 05K3912DK1 2005 D3 SG 05K3329DK1 2005 D3 SG 05K3887DK1 2005 D3 SG SS710 2004 D3 SG 05K3316DK1 2005 D3 SG 05K2406DK1 2005 D3 SG 05K3913DK1 2005 D3 SG 05K3927DK1 2005 D3 SG 05K2918DK1 2005 D3 SG 05K2933DK1 2005 D3 SG 05K791DK1 2005 D3 SG 05K802DK1 2005 D3 SG 05K3312DK1 2005 D3 SG 05K4648DK1 2005 D3 SG 05K2418DK1 2005 D3 SG 05K2899DK1 2005 D3 SG 05K3923DK1 2005 Singapore SriLan 99 9912a D3 H IMTSSA SRI 2000 1266 99TW628 99 PtoRico 63 BS PRico63 Tahiti 65

Genotype IV

PtoRico 77 1339

22:E 81:* 132:* 154:* 160:A 270:I 301:S 302:G 380:T 383:K 386:R 430:F 452:I 459:I

JAM1983 D2

DENV-2

1503 YUCATAN MX 84 D4

DENV-4

ThD1 0127 80 D1

DENV-1

5 changes

DENV-3 phylogenetic tree based on the E gene sequences Figure 1 DENV-3 phylogenetic tree based on the E gene sequences. The three was constructed using the method of Neighbor- joining with 1000 bootstrap replications. The genotypes are labeled according to the scheme of Lanciotti (1994) and the amino acid changes distinguishing each genotype are shown on the tree. Protein E gene sequences of DENV-1, DENV-2 and DENV-4 were used as outgroup. Branch lengths are proportional to percentage of divergence. Tamura Nei (TrN+I+G) nucleotide sub- stitution model was used with a proportion of invariable sites (I) of 0.3305 and gamma distribution (G) of 0.9911. Bootstrap support values are shown for key nodes only.

Page 4 of 13 (page number not for citation purposes)

Virology Journal 2009, 6:113

http://www.virologyj.com/content/6/1/113

In 98901437 DSS DV 3 98

In 98901517 DHF DV 3 98 NAMRU 2 98901413

In den3 98

In FW01 04

Indo0312a Tw In KJ46 04

In KJ71 04

In PH86 04 In PI64 04

Indo0508a Tw In FW06 04

In KJ30i 04 In TB55i 04

In TB16 04

96

NAMRU 2 98901620

ET D3 Hu Indonesia NIID02 2005

Indo9804a Tw

In 98901403 DSS DV 3 98

In BA51 04

ET SV0194 05

ET SV0171 05

ET D3 Hu TL018NIID 2005

99

ET SV0160 05

ET SV0186 05

ET SV0177 05

Sub-Lineage II

ET D3 Hu TL129NIID 2005

ET SV0193 05

ET D3 Hu TL109NIID 2005

96

ET D3 Hu OPD007NIID 2005 ET SV0153 05

100

ET SV0174 05 ET D3 Hu TL029NIID 2005

ET209 00

ET D3 Hu Indonesia NIID01 2005

Lineage II

ET D3 Hu Indonesia NIID04 2005

In den3 88

97

Indo9909a Tw

Indo85

Indo9108a Tw

Thail D88 303 88

In 98902890 DF DV 3 98

Malasya 74

Philp 96 9609a Tw

Philp 98 9809a Tw

95TW466 95

Tw 94 813KH9408a Tw

Tw 05 812KH0508a Tw

Philip 05 0508a TW

Philp 98 9808a Tw

Philp 97 9711a Tw

In InJ 16 82

47

Indo78

PF92 2986 92

PF92 4190 92

PF92 2956 92

PF89 320219 89

PF94 136116 94

PF89 27643 89

68:V 169:V 231:K 303:A 391:K 479:V 489:A

Sub-Lineage I

PF90 6056 90 PF90 3056 90

PF90 3050 90

100

Fiji 92

85

In Sleman 78

Indo73

Malasya 81

69

Taiwan 739079A

82

Philip 83

M25277 DENSP5AA

M93130 strain H87

China 80 2

BR DEN3 RO1 02

Lineage I

BR H87

68:I 169:A 231:R 303:T 391:R 479:A 489:V

Philp 56 H87

AJ563355

100

Ja D3 73NIID 73

BDH02 1 02

Genotype II

BDH Apu 01

Genotype IV

Puerto Rico 1963

BR D3BR RP1 03

Genotype III

BR D3BR RP2 03

5 changes

Genotype I phylogenetic tree constructed using the method of Neighbor-joining with 1000 bootstrap replications Figure 2 Genotype I phylogenetic tree constructed using the method of Neighbor-joining with 1000 bootstrap replica- tions. Sequences of each genotype II, III and IV were used as outgroup. Branch lengths are proportional to percentage diver- gence. Tamura Nei (TrN+I+G) nucleotide substitution model was used with a proportion of invariable sites (I) of 0.5420 and gamma distribution (G) of 2.6122. The lineage and sub-lineages are marked. Amino acids changes are indicated on the tree. Bootstrap support values are shown for key nodes only.

Page 5 of 13 (page number not for citation purposes)

Virology Journal 2009, 6:113

http://www.virologyj.com/content/6/1/113

Table 1: Nucleotide and amino acid substitutions in the informative sites of genotype I.

Nucleotide

Protein

Domains

Genotype I

Position

Lineage

Position

Lineagen

Type of amino acid Changes

Lineage II Sub-Lineage

Gene

Codon

I

II

Protein

I

II

I

II

I

48 135

3 3

G T

A C

II

I

V

68

Conservative

174 202 219 222 282 342 366 393

3 1 3 3 3 3 3 3

G A A T T G A A

A G G C C A G G

T

C

I

169

A

V

Conservative

441 474 506 516 537

3 3 2 3 3

T C T C

C T C T

II

A C T C

G T C T

A

G

231

R

K

Conservative

T G T

C A C

G

A

588 633 640 645 663 684 692 714 735 759 777

3 3 1 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 3

A T

G C

849

3

T

C

I

A

G

303

T

A

Nonconservative

III

C

T

909 912 1101 1153 1172

1 3 3 1 2

T C G

A T A

391

R

K

Conservative

TM

G G C G

A A G A

A

G

1269 1281 1302 1317 1329 1380 1436 1466

3 3 3 3 3 3 2 2

C C T

T T C

479 489

A V

V A

Conservative Conservative

Domain I: 1–156nt (1–52aa); 397–573nt (133–191aa); 835–882nt (279–294aa) Domain II: 157–396nt (53–132aa); 574–834nt (192–278aa) Domain III: 883–1176nt (295–392aa) Domain TM: 1177–1479nt (393–493aa) nt:are indicated the nucleotide positions aa::are indicated the amino acid positions

Page 6 of 13 (page number not for citation purposes)

Virology Journal 2009, 6:113

http://www.virologyj.com/content/6/1/113

nance of the classification of DENV-3 into four genotypes as previously suggested [25,34].

(Group A) and another more closely related to the strain D3BR/BR8/2004 isolated in northern Brazil (Group B). Only the strain D3BR/RPAAF/2007 isolated in 2007 was more closely related to D3BR/RP1/2003 strain.

Discussion The comparison of E protein gene sequences of DENV-3 revealed many variable sites; however, only 47 of them showed nucleotide substitutions that induced amino acid changes in a significant number of viruses (Additional file 5). Therefore, the E protein of DENV-3 showed 47 sites with variable amino acid residues, which were located mainly on the viral surface. Our molecular modeling anal- ysis showed that all the amino acid substitutions do not interfere with the conformational structure of the E pro- tein. These polymorphic amino acid residues could be involved in cell attachment, viral pathogenesis, and recog- nition by neutralizing antibodies [12,13,32]. Recently, it was shown that a panel of sera collected from DF and DHF patients 16–18 month after illness had different lev- els of neutralizing antibodies to different DENV-3 strains [33]. Those authors used in the neutralization tests iso- lates from Cuba and Puerto Rico, which showed amino acid substitutions at several of the 47 variable sites (Addi- tional file 6). This suggests that those residues may be involved in neutralization differences, but further studies are necessary to confirm this hypothesis.

Other authors have also observed the existence of some of the intragenotypic groups described in this study. It has been observed that genotype I includes three groups of viruses: South Pacific, Philippines, and East Timor viruses [37]. South Pacific viruses are included in the sub-lineage I, while Philippines and East Timor are internal groups within our sub-lineage II of genotype I. It has also been suggested that genotype II includes two groups of viruses called: pre- and post-1992 [29]. These groups correspond to our lineages I and II of genotype II, respectively. The post-1992 viruses include groups A and B, which corre- spond to our sub-lineages I and II of lineage II. In addi- tion, it has been suggested that isolates from Bangladesh form a distinct group within genotype II [38]. This group corresponds to our sub-lineage II of lineage I. Another study has also found three internal groups within geno- type II: Malaysia, Bangladesh and Vietnam viruses [37]. These groups correspond to our sub-lineage I of lineage I, sub-lineage II of lineage I, and sub-lineage II of lineage II, respectively. The genotype III viruses have been classified into four groups: Latin America, East Africa and groups A and B from Sri Lanka viruses [39]. Our analysis showed a similar distribution of genotype III viruses; however, we found that Latin America viruses (lineage II) form two groups that we called sub-lineages I and II. These sub-lin- eages showed also internal monophyletic groups, which were omitted to simplify the classification. However, other authors have identified these internal groups within sub-lineages I and II [37,40-42].

All the DENV-3 isolated in Ribeirao Preto between 2006– 2007 were grouped within the sub-lineage II/lineage II of genotype III. They were more closely related to viruses iso- lated in other cities than to those that were previously reported at Ribeirao Preto in 2003, suggesting that DENV- 3 is constantly moving within the country [43]. Brazil is a large tropical country with optimal conditions for the spread of dengue virus making difficult the control of the disease.

The phylogenetic analysis, based on E protein gene sequences, presented in this study showed that DENV-3 are distributed into four genotypes which is supported by complete mapping of this gene, and is in agreement with previous studies [25,34]. In addition, internal groups (lin- eages and sub-lineages) were observed within genotypes I, II and III. It was not possible to confirm internal sub- grouping within the genotype IV due to the low number of sequences available in the GenBank. All amino acids that characterize a group (genotype, lineage, or sub-line- age) are located in the 47 variable sites of the E protein. Characteristic amino acid residues corresponding to the different DENV-3 genotypes, lineages, and sub-lineages are evenly distributed in the E protein, and most of them are exposed on the viral surface.

In summary, our results provide information about the most frequent amino acid changes in the E protein of DENV-3. These amino acids could be involved in cell attachment, virus pathogenesis, and recognition by neu- tralizing antibodies. However, further studies are needed to confirm these hypotheses. The phylogenetic relation- ship suggested the existence of only four genotypes of DENV-3. In addition, we observed internal groups within genotypes I, II and III.

Recently, it has been reported the existence of a group of virus forming another genotype (genotype V) within DENV-3 [29]. However, our phylogenetic and nucleotide/ amino acid substitution analysis suggest that those viruses of genotype V form a sub-group within the clade of geno- type I and for this reason we have name this subgroup as lineage I. The phylogenetic trees generated in other studies using maximum likelihood and bayesian methods showed that the so-called genotype V is in the same clade of genotype I [35,36]. Therefore, we propose the mainte-

Page 7 of 13 (page number not for citation purposes)

Virology Journal 2009, 6:113

http://www.virologyj.com/content/6/1/113

VietN BID V1014 2006

TW 05 807KH0509a Tw

VietN BID V1018 2006

VietN BID V1015 2006

VietN BID V1017 2006

VietN BID V1016 2006 Viet0310b Tw

Viet0507a Tw VietN BID V1009 2006

VietN BID V1011 2006

VietN BID V1012 2006

VietN BID V1008 2006

Viet0409a Tw

VietN BID V1010 2006

Viet9809a Tw Viet9609a Tw

VietN BID V1013 2006

ThD3 1959 01

ThD3 0835 01

ThD3 0377 98

ThD3 0092 98

ThD3 0058 97

ThD3 0115 99

ThD3 0595 99

ThD3 1017 00

Thail 03 0308a Tw

ThD3 0903 98 ThD3 0650 97

ThD3 1687 98

Thal D93 044 93

ThD3 0240 92

Thail D94 283 94

Sub-Lineage II

Thail D95 0014 95 ThD3 0123 95 Thail D92 423 92

ThD3 0989 00

Ja 00 40 1HuNIID 00 ThD3 0328 02 ThD3 0723 99 Thail 02 0211a Tw

ThD3 1094 01

Lineage II

ThD3 1283 98

ThD3 0343 98

ThD3 0006 97 ThD3 0411 97 ThD3 1309 97

Tw 98 701TN9811a 98TWmosq 98 98TW368 98

98TW407 98

Thail 97 9709a Tw

ThD3 0005 96

Thail 98 9807a Ja 96 17 1HuNIID 96 Thail D96 330 96

ThD3 0195 94

48

Thail D97 0144 97 ThD3 0546 98 Thail C0360 94

ThD3 0808 98

ThD3 0514 98

ThD3 0436 97

ThD3 1465 97 Thail 98 KPS 4 0657 207

ThD3 0472 93

Thail D96 313 96

Thail D97 0106 97

ThD3 0810 98

66

Thail D97 0291 97

Thail C0331 94 94

ThD3 0396 94

ThD3 0104 93

ThD3 0077 98

Thail D93 674 93

Sub-Lineage I

Thail D94 122 94 ThD3 0654 01 ThD3 0111 02

ThD3 0089 95

ThD3 0969 01

Thail D95 0400 95

ThD3 0182 96

ThD3 0188 91

68

ThD3 0033 74 ThD3 73 CH53489D73 1

ThD3 0273 80

ThD3 0059 81

ThD3 0649 80

ThD3 285M 77 ThD3 0059 82

ThD3 0046 83 ThD3 86

ThD3 0137 84

ThD3 0140 84

ThD3 0177 81

Thail PaH881 88

ThD3 0010 87

Thail D88 086 88

57

ThD3 0796 87 Thail D89 273 89

Ma LN5547 92

Ma LN2632 93

Ma LN6083 94

Ma LN1746 93

Sub-Lineage I

Mal LN8180 94 Sing 8120 95

Thail 87 1384 87

ThD3 0220 85

ThD3 0065 86

ThD3 0402 85

ThD3 0183 85

ThD3 1035 87

ThD3 0134 83 ThD3 87

Lineage I

Thail 87

ThD3 0040 80

140:I 447:S 489:A

ThD3 0012 90

ThD3 0029 90

My 31985KLA 88 98TW182 98

100

Thail D91 393 91

Thail D92 431 92

ThD3 0396 88

Mal LN7029 94

Mal LN7933 94

ThD3 0213 88

Thail D91 538 91

BDH02 2 02

BDH02 5 02

BDH02 6 02

40

BDH Jacob 01 Bang0108a Tw BDH02 3 02

BDH02 7 02

BDH02 4 02

Sub-Lineage II

BDH02 1 02 BDH02 8 02

BDH Apu 01

BDH 058 00

140:T 447:G 489:T

BDH 114 00

BDH 165 00

Ja 00 27 1HuNIID 00

99

Myan 05 0508a Tw

Indo 98 98901590

Indo 98 98901640

BR D3BR RP1 03

Genotype III Genotype I

BR D3BR RP2 03 ET SV0174 05 ET SV0153 05

Puerto Rico 1963

Genotype IV

5 changes

Genotype II phylogenetic tree constructed using the method of Neighbor-joining with 1000 bootstrap replications Figure 3 Genotype II phylogenetic tree constructed using the method of Neighbor-joining with 1000 bootstrap replica- tions. Sequences of each genotype I, III and IV were used as outgroup. Branch lengths are proportional to percentage diver- gence. Tamura Nei (TrN+I+G) nucleotide substitution model was used with a proportion of invariable sites (I) of 0.5041 and gamma distribution (G) of 1.3902. The lineage and sub-lineages are marked. Amino acids changes are indicated on the tree. Bootstrap support values are shown for key nodes only.

Page 8 of 13 (page number not for citation purposes)

Virology Journal 2009, 6:113

http://www.virologyj.com/content/6/1/113

Table 2: Nucleotide and amino acid substitutions in the informative sites of genotype II.

Nucleotide

Protein

Domains

Genotype II

Lineage I

Lineage II

Position

Lineage I

Position

Lineage

Sub-Lineage

Sub-Lineage

Sub-Lineage

Type of amino acid Changes

Gene Codon

I

II

Protein

I

II

I

II

I

II

T

A

I

C T

T C

54 90 96

3 3 3

II

273 351

3 3

A G

G A

140

I

T

Nonconservative

I

T C

C T

A

G

419 549 525 558

2 3 3 3

G

C

II

A G

C A

609 708 747 834

3 3 3 3

T T

C C

G

A

III

T

C

963 1002 1134 1176

3 3 3 3

G T

C A

TM

447

S

G

Nonconservative

1188 1233 1339 1436 1465 1467

3 3 1 2 1 3

C A T G A T

C T G C A T

489

A

T

Nonconservative

Domain I: 1–156nt (1–52aa); 397–573nt (133–191aa); 835–882nt (279–294aa) Domain II: 157–396nt (53–132aa); 574–834nt (192–278aa) Domain III: 883–1176nt (295–392aa) Domain TM: 1177–1479nt (393–493aa) nt:are indicated the nucleotide positions aa::are indicated the amino acid positions

Methods Virus and RNA purification Twenty DENV-3 strains isolated in C6/36 cells (passage number 2) from DF and DHF/DSS patients, between 2006–2007, in Ribeirao Preto city, Brazil, were included in this study. Viral RNA was purified from 140 μl of cul- ture fluid with the QIAamp Viral RNA kit (Qiagen, Ger- many), following manufacturer's recommendations.

RT-PCR and sequencing The E protein gene of the samples were reverse-transcribed and amplified by polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR),

using consensus primers, as previously described [43]. The amplicons were purified from agarose gel using the QIAquick Gel Extraction Kit (Qiagen, USA), and directly sequenced in an ABI PRISM®3100 Genetic Analyzer (Applied Biosystems, USA). The sequences obtained in this study were submitted to the GenBank and registered with the following accession numbers: D3_BR/RP/1573/ 2006 (EU617019), D3_BR/RP/1604/2006 (EU617020), D3_BR/RP/1625/2006 (EU617021), D3_BR/RP/1651/ 2006 (EU617022), D3_BR/RP/2065/2006 (EU617023), D3_BR/RP/2131/2006 (EU617024), D3_BR/RP/2170/ 2006 (EU617025), D3_BR/RP/2198/2006 (EU617026),

Page 9 of 13 (page number not for citation purposes)

Virology Journal 2009, 6:113

http://www.virologyj.com/content/6/1/113

Table 3: Nucleotide and amino acid substitutions in the informative sites of genotype III.

Nucleotide

Domains

Genotype III

Lineage I

Lineage II

Position

Lineage

Sub-Lineage

Sub-Lineage

Gene

Codon

I

II

I

II

I

II

I

C C

T A

C

T

C

T

96 117 121 157 312 423

3 3 1 1 3 3

T T

A C

II

A C

G T

C

T

C

T

588 633 672 784 825

3 3 3 1 3

C

T

C

T

II

1050 1131 1170

3 3 3

A C

G T

G

T

TM

1185 1314 1356 1374 1473

3 3 3 3 3

T G T A

C A A G

Domain I: 1–156nt (1–52aa); 397–573nt (133–191aa); 835–882nt (279–294aa) Domain II: 157–396nt (53–132aa); 574–834nt (192–278aa) Domain III: 883–1176nt (295–392aa) Domain TM: 1177–1479nt (393–493aa) nt:are indicated the nucleotide positions aa::are indicated the amino acid positions

(EU617033),

D3_BR/RP/2404/2006 (EU617027), D3_BR/RP/2591/ 2006 (EU617028), D3_BR/RP/2604/2006 (EU617029), D3_BR/RP/554/2006 (EU617030), D3_BR/RP/590/2006 (EU617031), D3_BR/RP/597/2006 (EU617032), D3_BR/ D3_BR/RP/Val/2006 RP/AAF/2007 (EU617034), D3BR/RP/549/2006 (EU617035), D3BR/ (EU617036), D3BR/RP/2121/2006 RP/1690/2006 (EU617037), D3BR/RP/2167/2006 (EU617038).

test program to identify the best fit-model of nucleotide substitution for phylogenetic reconstruction; in all the analysis the Tamura and Nei (TrN+I+G) was the best model [47]. The best fit-model was selected under the hierarchical likelihood ratio test (hLTR). The phylogenetic relationships among strains were reconstructed by the neighbor-joining (NJ) and maximum parsimony (MP) methods using the PAUP 4.0B10 program [48].

Structural analysis and comparisons In order to identify location of the amino acid residues in the E protein the putative E protein structure of different isolates were compared with the E protein structure of DENV-3 deposited in the Protein Data Bank (PDB) under the access code 1UZG[32]. Analysis of the structures and construction of the illustrations were done using the graphical program Pymol [49].

Phylogenetic analysis of sequences The E protein gene sequences (1479 bp) obtained in this study were analyzed using the Vector NTI software (Infor- matix, USA) and then aligned with 427 sequences of DENV-3 retrieved from GenBank (Additional file 1) using the program CLUSTAL W software [44]. The alignment was edited with the BioEdit software v7.0.0 and MEGA 3.1 [45,46]. Aligned sequences were analyzed in the Model-

Page 10 of 13 (page number not for citation purposes)

Virology Journal 2009, 6:113

http://www.virologyj.com/content/6/1/113

D3 BR RP 2131 2006

D3 BR RP 1573 2006 D3BR RP 1690 2006 D3 BR RP 554 2006

D3 BR RP 1604 2006

A

D3 BR RP 2065 2006

80

BR D3BR CU6 02 PY D3PY AS12 02

PY D3PY YA2 03

Bv FSB 439 2003

PY D3PY FM11 03

PtoR BID V1043 2006

PtoR BID V1078 2003 D3 BR RP 2198 2006 D3 BR RP 2591 2006 D3 BR RP Val 2006 D3 BR RP 2404 2006

90

D3 BR RP 1651 2006

B

BR D3BR BR8 04 BR D3BR MR9 03

BR D3BR GO5 03

99

D3 BR RP AAF 2007

BR D3BR RP1 03

BR D3BR IG10 03 BR D3BR SL3 02

BR D3BR PV1 03

BR D3BR PV3 03

BR D3BR PV4 03 BR D3BR PV5 02 PY D3PY PJ4 03 PY D3PY PJ5 03 PY D3PY PJ6 03 BR DEN3 97 04 BR DEN3 95 04

BR DEN3 98 04

D3 H IMTSSA MART 2000 1567

D3 H IMTSSA MART 2000 1706

D3 H IMTSSA MART 1999 1243

Sub-Lineage II

D3 H IMTSSA MART 2001 2012 BR D3BR BV4 02

D3 H IMTSSA MART 2001 2336

BR D3BR MA1 02

BR D3BR RP2 03

BR D3BR SG2 02 BR D3BR ST14 04 BR DEN3 290 02

D3 H IMTSSA MART 2001 2023

PY D3PY AS10 03 BR74886 02

Cuba116 00 Peru FST312 Tumbes 2004 Peru OBT2812 Piura 2003 Peru FST145 Tumbes 2003 Peru FSP581 Piura 2001

Lineage II

Peru OBS8852 2000 Peru OBS8857 2000

Peru FST289 Tumbes 2004

Peru FST 346 Tumbes 2004

Cuba580 01

Cuba21 02 Peru FSL706 Loreto 2002

Peru FSL1212 Yurimaguas 2004 Peru IQD5132 Iquitos 2003

Peru IQD1728 Iquitos 2002

Peru MFI624 Iquitos Jan.2005

Peru OBT4024 Lima Comas 2005

Peru OBT1467 Tumbes 2001

44

BR Bel73318

BR GOI1099

BR MTO3103

BR 68784 00

BR GOI1100

BR CEA4739

BR RGN576

BR AM2394

BR ROR3832

Venz LARD5990 00 Venz LARD6667 Venz LARD6666

VEN BID V906 2001 Venz LARD7110 Venz LARD6315 00 Venz LARD6722 Venz C02 003 Maracay 2001

83

VEN BID V913 2001

VEN BID V904 2001 Venz C09 006 Maracay 2001

Venz C23 009 Maracay 2003

Venz C29 008 Maracay 2003

Venz LARD6411

Venz LARD6668 Venz LARD6318 00 Venz LARD7812

Sub-Lineage I

Venz LARD7984 Venz LARD6397 00

PtoR BID V858 2003

PtoR BID V1049 1998

PtoR BID V1050 1998 PtoR BID V859 1998

PtoR BID V1075 1998 6883 YUCATAN MX 97 6889 QUINTANA ROO MX 97

6584 YUCATAN MX 96 MX 00 OAXACA

85

MEX6097 95 4841 YUCATAN MX 95 PANAMA 94

Nicaragua24 94

D3 SG 05K3325DK1 2005

100

D3 SG 05K3912DK1 2005 D3 SG 05K3329DK1 2005

D3 SG 05K3887DK1 2005

D3 SG 05K3927DK1 2005

D3 SG SS710 2004

D3 SG 05K2406DK1 2005 D3 SG 05K3316DK1 2005

D3 SG 05K3913DK1 2005

D3 SG 05K2918DK1 2005

D3 SG 05K2933DK1 2005

Sub-Lineage II

D3 SG 05K791DK1 2005

Lineage I

D3 SG 05K802DK1 2005 D3 SG 05K3312DK1 2005 D3 SG 05K4648DK1 2005 D3 SG 05K2418DK1 2005 D3 SG 05K2899DK1 2005

D3 SG 05K3923DK1 2005

Singapore SriLan 99 9912a

100

99TW628 99

62

D3 H IMTSSA SRI 2000 1266

Srilanka 81

Srilanka 85

Samoa 86

India 84

Srilanka 89 Srilanka 91

Sub-Lineage I

Ja 00 28 1HuNIID 00

41

SOMALIA 93 S142

BDH02 1 02

Genotype II

BDH Apu 01

ET SV0174 05

ET SV0153 05

Genotype I

Puerto Rico 1963 Genotype IV

1 change

Genotype III phylogenetic tree constructed using the method of Neighbor-joining with 1000 bootstrap replications Figure 4 Genotype III phylogenetic tree constructed using the method of Neighbor-joining with 1000 bootstrap replica- tions. Some viruses of each genotype I, II and IV were used as outgroup. Branch lengths are proportional to percentage diver- gence. Tamura Nei (TrN+G) nucleotide substitution model was used with gamma distribution (G) of 0.2796. The Lineage and Sub-lineages are marked. Amino acids changes are indicated on the tree. Bootstrap support values are shown for key nodes only.

Page 11 of 13 (page number not for citation purposes)

Virology Journal 2009, 6:113

http://www.virologyj.com/content/6/1/113

Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Acknowledgements This work received financial support from Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo FAPESP), grants 05/04178-2. The authors are grate- ful to Prof. Maria. Cristina Nonato and Matheus P. Pinheiros by the help in structural analysis.

Authors' contributions AAA, FTA, DJ, HLA, LCA, NAN, LTF and VHA conceived of the study, and participated in its design and coordination. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

2.

Additional material

3.

References 1. WHO: World Health Organization. Dengue and Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever. Fact Sheet No. 117. Geneva. 2002. Dos Santos HWG, Poloni T, Souza KP, Muller VDM, Tremeschin F, Nali LC, Fantinatti LR, Amarilla AA, Castro HLA, Nunes MR, et al.: A simple one-step real-time RT-PCR for diagnosis of dengue virus infection. Journal of Medical Virology 2008, 80:1426-1433. Henchal E, Putnak J: The dengue viruses. Clin Microbiol Rev 1990, 3:376-396.

5.

Additional file 1 Database of the E protein gene sequences analyzed in this study. The file provides details on all the sequences including in this study. Click here for file [http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/supplementary/1743- 422X-6-113-S1.xls]

6.

7.

Additional file 2 Alignment of nucleotide and amino acid sequences of the E protein of the 361 strains of DENV-3. The file provides details on all the variable sites distributed in the E protein gene. Click here for file [http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/supplementary/1743- 422X-6-113-S2.xls]

8.

9.

4. Mackenzie J, Gubler D, Petersen L: Emerging flaviviruses: the spread and resurgence of Japanese encephalitis, West Nile and dengue viruses. Nat Med 2004, 10:S98-109. Anderson R, King A, Innis B: Correlation of E protein binding with cell susceptibility to dengue 4 virus infection. J Gen Virol 1992, 73(Pt 8):2155-2159. He R, Innis B, Nisalak A, Usawattanakul W, Wang S, Kalayanarooj S, Anderson R: Antibodies that block virus attachment to Vero cells are a major component of the human neutralizing anti- body response against dengue virus type 2. J Med Virol 1995, 45:451-461. Chen Y, Maguire T, Marks R: Demonstration of binding of den- gue virus envelope protein to target cells. J Virol 1996, 70:8765-8772. Lindenbach B, Rice C: Flaviviridae: the viruses and their replica- tion. In Fields virology Volume 1. Edited by: Knipe D, Howley P. Phila- delphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins; 2001:991-1042. Beasley D, Aaskov J: Epitopes on the dengue 1 virus envelope protein recognized by neutralizing IgM monoclonal antibod- ies. Virology 2001, 279:447-458.

10. Crill W, Roehrig J: Monoclonal antibodies that bind to domain III of dengue virus E glycoprotein are the most efficient blockers of virus adsorption to Vero cells. J Virol 2001, 75:7769-7773.

Additional file 3 Nucleotide and amino acid substitutions in the 95 informative sites of the E gene of DENV-3. The file provides details on nucleotide and amino acid substitutions in the informative sites of the E gene of DENV-3. Click here for file [http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/supplementary/1743- 422X-6-113-S3.xls]

12.

11. Modis Y, Ogata S, Clements D, Harrison S: Structure of the den- gue virus envelope protein after membrane fusion. Nature 2004, 427:313-319. Jennings A, Gibson C, Miller B, Mathews J, Mitchell C, Roehrig J, Wood D, Taffs F, Sil B, Whitby S: Analysis of a yellow fever virus isolated from a fatal case of vaccine-associated human encephalitis. J Infect Dis 1994, 169:512-518.

13. Rey F, Heinz F, Mandl C, Kunz C, Harrison S: The envelope glyco- protein from tick-borne encephalitis virus at 2 A resolution. Nature 1995, 375:291-298.

14. Twiddy S, Holmes E, Rambaut A: Inferring the rate and time- scale of dengue virus evolution. Mol Biol Evol 2003, 20:122-129. 15. Russell P, McCown J: Comparison of dengue-2 and dengue-3 virus strains by neutralization tests and identification of a subtype of dengue-3. Am J Trop Med Hyg 1972, 21:97-99.

Additional file 4 A stereoscopic drawing of the tertiary structure of E protein indicating the location of the amino acid residues. Domains I, II and III are colored in red, yellow and blue, respectively. The overlapping amino acids are in gray. A) Location of amino acids that characterize the genotypes. B) Location of amino acids that characterize the lineage I and II of the genotype I. C) Location of amino acids that characterize the groups within the lineage I of genotype II. D) Location of amino acids that characterize the groups within the lineage I of genotype III. Click here for file [http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/supplementary/1743- 422X-6-113-S4.ppt]

16. Repik P, Dalrymple J, Brandt W, McCown J, Russell P: RNA finger- printing as a method for distinguishing dengue 1 virus strains. Am J Trop Med Hyg 1983, 32:577-589.

17. Trent D, Grant J, Rosen L, Monath T: Genetic variation among dengue 2 viruses of different geographic origin. Virology 1983, 128:271-284.

18. Blok J: Genetic relationships of the dengue virus serotypes. J

Gen Virol 1985, 66(Pt 6):1323-1325.

Additional file 5 Comparison of the E protein amino acid sequence of the 361 viruses. Details on the frequency of amino acids. Click here for file [http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/supplementary/1743- 422X-6-113-S5.xls]

19. Blok J, Henchal E, Gorman B: Comparison of dengue viruses and some other flaviviruses by cDNA-RNA hybridization analysis and detection of a close relationship between dengue virus serotype 2 and Edge Hill virus. J Gen Virol 1984, 65(Pt 12):2173-2181.

20. Kerschner J, Vorndam A, Monath T, Trent D: Genetic and epide- miological studies of dengue type 2 viruses by hybridization using synthetic deoxyoligonucleotides as probes. J Gen Virol 1986, 67(Pt 12):2645-2661.

21. Vorndam V, Nogueira R, Trent D: Restriction enzyme analysis of American region dengue viruses. Arch Virol 1994, 136:191-196.

Additional file 6 Comparison of E the protein amino acid sequence of the Cuba strains and Puerto Rico. Sequence of isolates from Cuba and Puerto Rico, which showed differences of amino acids in several sites of the E protein. Click here for file [http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/supplementary/1743- 422X-6-113-S6.xls]

Page 12 of 13 (page number not for citation purposes)

Virology Journal 2009, 6:113

http://www.virologyj.com/content/6/1/113

tiple sequence alignment aided by quality analysis tools. Nucleic Acids Res 1997, 25:4876-4882.

22. Vorndam V, Kuno G, Rosado N: A PCR-restriction enzyme tech- nique for determining dengue virus subgroups within sero- types. J Virol Methods 1994, 48:237-244.

45. Hall T: : BioEdit: a user-friendly biological sequence align- ment editor and analysis program for Windows 95/98/NT. Nucl Acids Symp Ser 1999, 41:95-98.

24.

25.

47.

23. Rico-Hesse R: Molecular evolution and distribution of dengue viruses type 1 and 2 in nature. Virology 1990, 174:479-493. Lewis J, Chang G, Lanciotti R, Kinney R, Mayer L, Trent D: Phyloge- netic relationships of dengue-2 viruses. Virology 1993, 197:216-224. Lanciotti R, Lewis J, Gubler D, Trent D: Molecular evolution and epidemiology of dengue-3 viruses. J Gen Virol 1994, 75(Pt 1):65-75.

48.

26. Goncalvez A, Escalante A, Pujol F, Ludert J, Tovar D, Salas R, Liprandi F: Diversity and evolution of the envelope gene of dengue virus type 1. Virology 2002, 303:110-119.

46. Kumar S, Tamura K, Nei M: MEGA3: Integrated software for Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis and sequence alignment. Brief Bioinform 2004, 5:150-163. Posada D: ModelTest Server: a web-based tool for the statis- tical selection of models of nucleotide substitution online. Nucleic Acids Res 2006, 34:W700-703. Swofford D: PAUP*: phylogenetic analysis using parsimony (*and other methods). In Version 4.0b10a Sunderland, Mass: Sin- auer Associates; 1998.

49. Delano W: The PyMOL Molecular Graphics System. 2002

[http://www.pymol.org]. San Carlos, CA, USA

27. Wang E, Ni H, Xu R, Barrett A, Watowich S, Gubler D, Weaver S: Evolutionary relationships of endemic/epidemic and sylvatic dengue viruses. J Virol 2000, 74:3227-3234.

28. Twiddy S, Farrar J, Vinh Chau N, Wills B, Gould E, Gritsun T, Lloyd G, Holmes E: Phylogenetic relationships and differential selec- tion pressures among genotypes of dengue-2 virus. Virology 2002, 298:63-72.

30.

29. Wittke V, Robb T, Thu H, Nisalak A, Nimmannitya S, Kalayanrooj S, Vaughn D, Endy T, Holmes E, Aaskov J: Extinction and rapid emergence of strains of dengue 3 virus during an interepi- demic period. Virology 2002, 301:148-156. Lanciotti R, Gubler D, Trent D: Molecular evolution and phylog- eny of dengue-4 viruses. J Gen Virol 1997, 78(Pt 9):2279-2284.

31. Worobey M, Rambaut A, Holmes E: Widespread intra-serotype recombination in natural populations of dengue virus. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1999, 96:7352-7357.

32. Modis Y, Ogata S, Clements D, Harrison S: Variable surface epitopes in the crystal structure of dengue virus type 3 enve- lope glycoprotein. J Virol 2005, 79:1223-1231.

33. Alvarez M, Pavon-Oro A, Rodriguez-Roche R, Bernardo L, Morier L, Sanchez L, Alvarez A, Guzmán M: Neutralizing antibody response variation against dengue 3 strains. J Med Virol 2008, 80:1783-1789.

34. Chungue E, Deubel V, Cassar O, Laille M, Martin P: Molecular epi- demiology of dengue 3 viruses and genetic relatedness among dengue 3 strains isolated from patients with mild or severe form of dengue fever in French Polynesia. J Gen Virol 1993, 74(Pt 12):2765-2770.

35. Barrero P, Mistchenko A: Genetic analysis of dengue virus type 3 isolated in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Virus Res 2008, 135:83-88.

36. King C, Chao D, Chien L, Chang G, Lin T, Wu Y, Huang J: Compar- ative analysis of full genomic sequences among different gen- otypes of dengue virus type 3. Virol J 2008, 5:63.

38.

37. Araújo J, Nogueira R, Schatzmayr H, Zanotto P, Bello G: Phylogeog- raphy and evolutionary history of dengue virus type 3. Infect Genet Evol 2009, 9:716-725. Podder G, Breiman R, Azim T, Thu H, Velathanthiri N, Mai lQ, Lowry K, Aaskov J: Origin of dengue type 3 viruses associated with the dengue outbreak in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in 2000 and 2001. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2006, 74:263-265.

40.

Publish with BioMed Central and every scientist can read your work free of charge

41.

"BioMed Central will be the most significant development for disseminating the results of biomedical researc h in our lifetime."

39. Messer W, Gubler D, Harris E, Sivananthan K, de Silva A: Emer- gence and global spread of a dengue serotype 3, subtype III virus. Emerg Infect Dis 2003, 9:800-809. Fajardo A, Recarey R, de Mora D, D' Andrea L, Alvarez M, Regato M, Colina R, Khan B, Cristina J: Modeling gene sequence changes over time in type 3 dengue viruses from Ecuador. Virus Res 2009, 141:105-109. de Mora D, Andrea L, Alvarez M, Regato M, Fajardo A, Recarey R, Colina R, Khan B, Cristina J: Evidence of diversification of den- gue virus type 3 genotype III in the South American region. Arch Virol 2009, 154:699-707.

Sir Paul Nurse, Cancer Research UK

Your research papers will be:

available free of charge to the entire biomedical community

42. Kochel T, Aguilar P, Felices V, Comach G, Cruz C, Alava A, Vargas J, Olson J, Blair P: Molecular epidemiology of dengue virus type 3 in Northern South America: 2000 – 2005. Infect Genet Evol 2008, 8:682-688.

peer reviewed and published immediately upon acceptance

cited in PubMed and archived on PubMed Central

43. Aquino V, Anatriello E, Gonçalves P, DA Silva E, Vasconcelos P, Vieira D, Batista W, Bobadilla M, Vazquez C, Moran M, Figueiredo L: Molec- ular epidemiology of dengue type 3 virus in Brazil and Para- guay, 2002–2004. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2006, 75:710-715.

yours — you keep the copyright

BioMedcentral

44. Thompson J, Gibson T, Plewniak F, Jeanmougin F, Higgins D: The CLUSTAL_X windows interface: flexible strategies for mul-

Submit your manuscript here: http://www.biomedcentral.com/info/publishing_adv.asp

Page 13 of 13 (page number not for citation purposes)