Sendai virus intra-host population dynamics and host immunocompetence influence viral virulence during in vivo passage

Peña, José; Chen-Harris, Haiyin; Allen, Jonathan E.; Hwang, Mona; Elsheikh, Maher; Mabery, Shalini; Bielefeldt-Ohmann, Helle; Zemla, Adam T.; Bowen, Richard A.; Borucki, Monica K.

A consensus change in the polymerase gene at nt 11,925, an A to G transition, resulted in amino acid residue 1,124 changing from an asparagine to aspartic acid (N1124D) and appeared to be selected for during in vivo passage. Interestingly, the egg-passaged seed stock had 50:50 ratio of each amino acid, although the Illumina data analysis called this as an asparagine. There was a trend toward an A to G transition for all diet groups (Figs. 5D and 6D) . The frequency of residue 1124D in the P1 sample ranged from 1.2 to 76% while the P10 samples ranged from 13 to 71% with the average frequency of G increasing between P1 and P10 from 40 to 62%. In guinea pig samples this A to G substitution ranged between 49 and 79%.