Origin and Evolution of GBV-C/Hepatitis G Virus and Relationships with Ancient Human Migrations
Origin and Evolution of GBV-C/Hepatitis G Virus and Relationships with Ancient Human Migrations
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DOI：
10.1007/s002390010198
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发表时间：
2001-08
影响因子：
3.9
通讯作者：
A. Pavesi
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
A. Pavesi
The GB virus C/hepatitis G virus (GBV-C/HGV) is a newly identified human RNA virus, belonging to theFlaviviridaefamily. Persistent infection by GBV-C/HGV is common in humans, and genetically divergent isolates have been identified in different parts of the world. Due to the absence of a real pathogenic role of GBV-C/HGV in liver disease and its extremely low mutation rate, this virus is a potential marker to trace prehistoric links between human populations. In this study, origin and evolution of GBV-C/HGV were examined using a set of fully sequenced strains of worldwide origin. A first phylogenetic analysis, addressed to the short (255 nucleotides) NS5A overlapping coding region by the neighbor-joining method, suggested an ancient African origin of GBV-C/HGV. This notion was confirmed when the same analysis was applied to the genomic regions showing the lowest rate of synonymous substitutions, covering one-fourth (2184 nucleotides) of the total coding potential of the virus genome. By using a multivariate statistical method and extending the analysis to the complete coding region, fine details of the evolutionary history of GBV-C/HGV were further elucidated. By this approach, isolates from Southeast Asia appeared to be the most closely related to those of African origin, consistent with a major route of ancient human migrations from Africa to southeastern parts of the Asian continent.
