Sequence analysis of the L protein of the Ebola 2014 outbreak: Insight into conserved regions and mutations

  • Authors:
    • Gohar Ayub
    • Yasir Waheed
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: April 15, 2016     https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2016.5145
  • Pages: 4821-4826
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Abstract

The 2014 Ebola outbreak was one of the largest that have occurred; it started in Guinea and spread to Nigeria, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Phylogenetic analysis of the current virus species indicated that this outbreak is the result of a divergent lineage of the Zaire ebolavirus. The L protein of Ebola virus (EBOV) is the catalytic subunit of the RNA‑dependent RNA polymerase complex, which, with VP35, is key for the replication and transcription of viral RNA. Earlier sequence analysis demonstrated that the L protein of all non‑segmented negative‑sense (NNS) RNA viruses consists of six domains containing conserved functional motifs. The aim of the present study was to analyze the presence of these motifs in 2014 EBOV isolates, highlight their function and how they may contribute to the overall pathogenicity of the isolates. For this purpose, 81 2014 EBOV L protein sequences were aligned with 475 other NNS RNA viruses, including Paramyxoviridae and Rhabdoviridae viruses. Phylogenetic analysis of all EBOV outbreak L protein sequences was also performed. Analysis of the amino acid substitutions in the 2014 EBOV outbreak was conducted using sequence analysis. The alignment demonstrated the presence of previously conserved motifs in the 2014 EBOV isolates and novel residues. Notably, all the mutations identified in the 2014 EBOV isolates were tolerant, they were pathogenic with certain examples occurring within previously determined functional conserved motifs, possibly altering viral pathogenicity, replication and virulence. The phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that all sequences with the exception of the 2014 EBOV sequences were clustered together. The 2014 EBOV outbreak has acquired a great number of mutations, which may explain the reasons behind this unprecedented outbreak. Certain residues critical to the function of the polymerase remain conserved and may be targets for the development of antiviral therapeutic agents.
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June-2016
Volume 13 Issue 6

Print ISSN: 1791-2997
Online ISSN:1791-3004

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Spandidos Publications style
Ayub G and Waheed Y: Sequence analysis of the L protein of the Ebola 2014 outbreak: Insight into conserved regions and mutations. Mol Med Rep 13: 4821-4826, 2016.
APA
Ayub, G., & Waheed, Y. (2016). Sequence analysis of the L protein of the Ebola 2014 outbreak: Insight into conserved regions and mutations. Molecular Medicine Reports, 13, 4821-4826. https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2016.5145
MLA
Ayub, G., Waheed, Y."Sequence analysis of the L protein of the Ebola 2014 outbreak: Insight into conserved regions and mutations". Molecular Medicine Reports 13.6 (2016): 4821-4826.
Chicago
Ayub, G., Waheed, Y."Sequence analysis of the L protein of the Ebola 2014 outbreak: Insight into conserved regions and mutations". Molecular Medicine Reports 13, no. 6 (2016): 4821-4826. https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2016.5145