Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus Adaptation in Different Host Environments and Existence of Quasispecies

Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus Adaptation in Different Host Environments and Existence of Quasispecies

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A highly virulent strain (Hypr) of tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) was serially subcultured in rubbermaid 8 gallon trash can the mammalian porcine kidney stable (PS) and Ixodes ricinus tick (IRE/CTVM19) cell lines, producing three viral variants.These variants exhibited distinct plaque sizes and virulence in a mouse model.Comparing the full-genome sequences of all variants, several nucleotide changes were identified in different genomic regions.Furthermore, different sequential variants were revealed to co-exist within one sample as quasispecies.

Interestingly, the above-mentioned nucleotide changes found within the whole genome sequences of the new variants were present alongside the nucleotide sequence of the parental strain, which was represented as a minority quasispecies.These observations further imply that TBEV exists as a heterogeneous population that contains virus hydrangea red sensation variants pre-adapted to reproduction in different environments, probably enabling virus survival in ticks and mammals.