A Point Mutation in a Herpesvirus Co-Determines Neuropathogenicity and Viral Shedding
A point mutation in the DNA polymerase gene in equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) is one determinant for the development of neurological disease in horses. Three recently conducted infection experiments using domestic horses and ponies failed to detect statistically significant differences in viral s...
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doaj-51c99712104d462dbae0b950921d4b8b2020-11-24T23:10:32ZengMDPI AGViruses1999-49152017-01-0191610.3390/v9010006v9010006A Point Mutation in a Herpesvirus Co-Determines Neuropathogenicity and Viral SheddingMathias Franz0Laura B. Goodman1Gerlinde R. Van de Walle2Nikolaus Osterrieder3Alex D. Greenwood4Department of Wildlife Diseases, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin 10315, GermanyDepartment of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USABaker Institute for Animal Health, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USAInstitut für Virologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Robert Von Ostertag-Str. 7 – 13, Berlin 14163, GermanyDepartment of Wildlife Diseases, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin 10315, GermanyA point mutation in the DNA polymerase gene in equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) is one determinant for the development of neurological disease in horses. Three recently conducted infection experiments using domestic horses and ponies failed to detect statistically significant differences in viral shedding between the neuropathogenic and non-neuropathogenic variants. These results were interpreted as suggesting the absence of a consistent selective advantage of the neuropathogenic variant and therefore appeared to be inconsistent with a systematic increase in the prevalence of neuropathogenic strains. To overcome potential problems of low statistical power related to small group sizes in these infection experiments, we integrated raw data from all three experiments into a single statistical analysis. The results of this combined analysis showed that infection with the neuropathogenic EHV-1 variant led to a statistically significant increase in viral shedding. This finding is consistent with the idea that neuropathogenic strains could have a selective advantage and are therefore systematically increasing in prevalence in domestic horse populations. However, further studies are required to determine whether a selective advantage indeed exists for neuropathogenic strains.http://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/9/1/6equine herpesvirus type 1neuropathogenicityviral sheddingtrade-off hypothesis |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Mathias Franz Laura B. Goodman Gerlinde R. Van de Walle Nikolaus Osterrieder Alex D. Greenwood |
spellingShingle |
Mathias Franz Laura B. Goodman Gerlinde R. Van de Walle Nikolaus Osterrieder Alex D. Greenwood A Point Mutation in a Herpesvirus Co-Determines Neuropathogenicity and Viral Shedding Viruses equine herpesvirus type 1 neuropathogenicity viral shedding trade-off hypothesis |
author_facet |
Mathias Franz Laura B. Goodman Gerlinde R. Van de Walle Nikolaus Osterrieder Alex D. Greenwood |
author_sort |
Mathias Franz |
title |
A Point Mutation in a Herpesvirus Co-Determines Neuropathogenicity and Viral Shedding |
title_short |
A Point Mutation in a Herpesvirus Co-Determines Neuropathogenicity and Viral Shedding |
title_full |
A Point Mutation in a Herpesvirus Co-Determines Neuropathogenicity and Viral Shedding |
title_fullStr |
A Point Mutation in a Herpesvirus Co-Determines Neuropathogenicity and Viral Shedding |
title_full_unstemmed |
A Point Mutation in a Herpesvirus Co-Determines Neuropathogenicity and Viral Shedding |
title_sort |
point mutation in a herpesvirus co-determines neuropathogenicity and viral shedding |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Viruses |
issn |
1999-4915 |
publishDate |
2017-01-01 |
description |
A point mutation in the DNA polymerase gene in equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) is one determinant for the development of neurological disease in horses. Three recently conducted infection experiments using domestic horses and ponies failed to detect statistically significant differences in viral shedding between the neuropathogenic and non-neuropathogenic variants. These results were interpreted as suggesting the absence of a consistent selective advantage of the neuropathogenic variant and therefore appeared to be inconsistent with a systematic increase in the prevalence of neuropathogenic strains. To overcome potential problems of low statistical power related to small group sizes in these infection experiments, we integrated raw data from all three experiments into a single statistical analysis. The results of this combined analysis showed that infection with the neuropathogenic EHV-1 variant led to a statistically significant increase in viral shedding. This finding is consistent with the idea that neuropathogenic strains could have a selective advantage and are therefore systematically increasing in prevalence in domestic horse populations. However, further studies are required to determine whether a selective advantage indeed exists for neuropathogenic strains. |
topic |
equine herpesvirus type 1 neuropathogenicity viral shedding trade-off hypothesis |
url |
http://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/9/1/6 |
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