Orientador: Maria Silvia Viccari Gatti / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-16T08:58:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Fregolente_MariaClaraDuarte_D.pdf: 7203529 bytes, checksum: acf60e6e770f96882a60213754fcb52d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / Resumo: Picobirnavírus (PBV) pertencem à família Picobirnaviridae, gênero Picobirnavirus e têm como espécie tipo Human picobirnavirus e Rabbit picobirnavirus. Estes pequenos vírus não envelopados, de dois segmentos genômicos de RNA dupla fita, são encontrados em amostras de fezes diarreicas ou não de diferentes hospedeiros mamíferos, incluindo o homem, aves e répteis. Os mecanismos da infecção por PBV e sua associação a gastroenterites ainda não estão esclarecidos, mas são colocados como agentes emergentes e oportunistas e seu potencial zoonótico foi sugerido. As técnicas utilizadas para a identificação desses vírus são: eletroforese em gel de poliacrilamida (EGPA) e RT-PCR. A primeira permite diferenciar os PBV pelas diferenças de migração dos seus segmentos genômicos. Já na RT-PCR são sete os pares de iniciadores descritos, incluindo aqueles que permitem sua diferenciação em genogrupo I ou II. Este projeto objetivou caracterizar genética e filogeneticamente PBV de diferentes hospedeiros naturais e as estratégias utilizadas foram o sequenciamento total e parcial dos segmentos genômicos de PBV e a definição de uma região conservada para o desenho de iniciadores capazes de diagnosticar todos os PBV por RT-PCR. Foram analisadas para a presença de PBV amostras de fezes de suínos, coelhos, ratos, cães, cobras, ratos silvestres, capivaras, cavalos e bovinos. Utilizando a EGPA, PBV foram identificados em todos os hospedeiros estudados e pela RT-PCR identificou-se genogrupo I de PBV em quase todos, com exceção de capivaras e bovinos. O genogrupo II não foi identificado. A circulação do genogrupo I em diferentes hospedeiros sugere que não existe especificidade genogrupo-espécie de hospedeiro. O sequenciamento parcial do segmento menor dos PBV identificados em cães, cobra e ratos mostrou uma relativa homologia principalmente com sequências de PBV identificados em humanos. A coexistência de duas ou mais populações de PBV em um mesmo hospedeiro foi identificada em cavalos, suínos, rato, rato silvestre e coelho a partir do sequenciamento parcial do segmento menor após clonagem, sugerindo um possível mecanismo de reassortment, o que pode levar a salto entre espécies. Esses resultados suportam o potencial emergente e zoonótico dos PBV. A heterogeneidade nas sequências de nucleotídeos verificada por esse sequenciamento sugere a presença de quasiespécies de PBV nesses hospedeiros. A menor variação observada nas sequências de nucleotídeos de PBV identificados em animais não confinados pode ser justificada pela tendência ao menor contato entre esses animais do que entre os de cativeiro, fazendo com que a transmissão viral também seja menor. Foi proposta uma padronização para a nomenclatura dos PBV, baseada em seu hospedeiro, país e ano de identificação. O atual sistema de classificação para os PBV não é apropriado, devido à identificação de PBV não pertencentes a nenhum dos genogrupos já descritos e à presença de heterogeneidade nas sequências de PBV do genogrupo I. Infelizmente, não foi possível sequenciar o genoma completo dos PBV estudados, não sendo identificada nenhuma sequência conservada que permitisse o desenho de iniciadores capazes de unificar o diagnóstico dos PBV. Estudos tentativos estão em andamento para que, a partir do sequenciamento completo e análise do genoma de diferentes PBV, seja possível definir as porcentagens de identidade mínimas para sua classificação em genogrupos e/ou genotipos / Abstract: Picobirnaviruses (PBV) belong to the Picobirnaviridae family, genus Picobirnavirus, and Human picobirnavirus and Rabbit picobirnavirus are the type species. These small non-enveloped viruses, with two genetic segments of double-stranded RNA, can be found in diarrheic or nondiarrheic fecal samples from different hosts like mammals, including humans, birds and reptiles. PBV infection and its association with gastroenteritis are still unknown, but they are considered opportunistic and emergent pathogens, and their zoonotic potential has also been suggested. Techniques for PBV identification include: polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and RTPCR. The first one allows characterization of PBV according to the migration pattern of their genomic segments. In the RT-PCR, seven primers' pairs have been designed, including one that allows classification of PBV into genogroups I or II. The aim of this project was the genetic and phylogenetic characterization of PBV identified in fecal samples from different natural hosts by complete and partial sequencing of PBV genomic segments and set up of a conserved region for designing primers able to detect all PBV by RT-PCR. Fecal samples from pigs, rabbits, rats, dogs, snakes, wild rats, capybaras, horses and cattle were analyzed for PBV occurrence. PBV were identified in all studied hosts by PAGE and genogroup I was identified in the majority of them by RT-PCR, except in capybaras and cattle. Genogroup II was not identified. Genogroup I circulation in different hosts suggests that there is no genogroup-host species' specificity. Partial sequencing of small PBV's genomic segment identified in fecal samples from dogs, snake and rats showed homology mainly to human PBV sequences. Coexistence of two or more PBV population in the same host could be determined in fecal samples from horses, pigs, rat, wild rat and rabbit by partial sequencing of small PBV's genomic segment after cloning, suggesting that reassortment may occur in nature, allowing host species jump. These results support the emergent and zoonotic potential of PBV. The heterogeneity found in PBV's nucleotide sequences after cloning suggests the existence of PBV quasispecies in these hosts. The little variation in nucleotide sequences of PBV identified in hosts living in an open environment could be justified by a tendency of less contact among these animals, allowing less viral spread. The classification system used nowadays is cannot be considered appropriated as it doesn't consider the heterogeneity found in PBV's genogroup I sequences. Also, PBV that don't belong to any of the described genogroups, remain with no classification. Therefore, a new standard nomenclature for PBV, based on its host, country and year of identification was proposed. Unfortunately, it was not possible to sequence the complete genome of PBV found in this study. Also, no conserved sequence could be identified for primers' design, which would be capable of standardized PBV detection. Additional studies are ongoing to try to define nucleotide sequences identity percentages for genogroups and/or genotypes classification / Doutorado / Microbiologia / Doutor em Genetica e Biologia Molecular

Template-dependent replication at the molecular level is the basis of reproduction in nature. A detailed understanding of the peculiarities of the chemical reaction kinetics associated with replication processes is therefore an indispensible prerequisite for any understanding of evolution at the molecular level. Networks of interacting self-replicating species can give rise to a wealth of different dynamical phenomena, from competitive exclusion to permanent coexistence, from global stability to multi-stability and chaotic dynamics. Nevertheless, there are some general principles that govern their overall behavior. We focus on the question to what extent the dynamics of replication can explain the accumulation of genetic information that eventually leads to the emergence of the first cell and hence the origin of life as we know it. A large class of ligation-based replication systems, which includes the experimentally available model systems for template directed self-replication, is of particular interest because its dynamics bridges the gap between the survival of a single fittest species to the global coexistence of everthing. In this intermediate regime the selection is weak enough to allow the coexistence of genetically unrelated replicators and strong enough to limit the accumulation of disfunctional mutants.

Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) is a DNA virus and belongs to the genus Orthohepadnavirus of the Hepadnaviridae family which represents one of two animal viruses with a DNA genome which replicates by reverse transcription of a viral RNA intermediate. Nucleotide variation led to further sub-classification into 8 genotypes (A to H). The reverse transcription step within its life cycle is prone to the introduction of errors and recombination when dually infected. This leads to a viral quasispecies which forms during the course of infection with many minor population variants; such variants can however only be detected by means of ultra-deep sequencing. A recent study in the Department of Medical Virology (UP) by Mayaphi et al. identified a number of the specimens that partitioned away from the typical subgenotype A1 clades with high bootstrap values and longer branch lengths. Thus, the main objective of the current study was to characterize the full genome of all variants for the outliers observed in the aforementioned study, inclusive of potential recombination, dual infection and minor populations. Twenty samples were selected from a previous cohort for purposes of the present study. The viral DNA was extracted and amplified by PCR according to the methods described by Günther et al. with modified primer sets. Nineteen of the samples were successfully amplified and 15 of these were sequenced. Specimens were sequenced by NGS on the Illumina MiSeq™ sequencer and sequence data used to reconstruct the viral quasispecies of each specimen. Further analyses of the reconstructed variants included molecular characterization as well as phylogenetic analysis and screening for recombination and drug resistance mutations. Full genome coverage was obtained for twelve of the fifteen samples and full genome variants reconstructed, generating nearly 40 full genomes. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the majority of the samples are of genotype A, more specifically of subgenotype A1, differing by less than 4% from known sequences. The phylogenetic analysis revealed a similar clade of outliers, where four samples clustered together with significant bootstrap support (75%) and a fifth sample partitioned separate from, yet close to, this clade, away from the typical African A1 clade. This clade was assigned to genogroup III. Three samples were of the Asian A1 clade (genogroup I) with remaining specimens grouping within genotype D and E. The variants showed low diversity within each specimen with some differing at but a few positions across the genome while even the most diverse quasispecies differed by less than a percentage (32 positions). Several unique and atypical positional variations were observed amongst study samples of which some were present in but one of the variants for that sample. Twenty-six lead to shared amino acid changes. Some observed changes, such as A1762T/G1764A and G1896A, could explain the serological patterns such as HBeAg negativity while others, such as C2002T, were previously implicated in disease progression and severity. Sample N199 presented a longer branch length and revealed short regions within the genome that display evidence of recombination between HBV/A1 and HBV/A2. The results illustrate the utility of NGS technology in characterizing viral variants. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / lk2014 / Medical Virology / MSc / Unrestricted

Translation initiation in the hepatitis C virus (HCV) occurs through a cap- independent mechanism that involves an internal ribosome entry site (IRES) capable of interaction with and utilization of the eukaryotic translational machinery. We focused on the structural configuration of the different HCV-IRES domains and the impact of IRES primary sequence variations on secondary structure conservation and function. For this purpose we introduced into our laboratory, methods such as denaturing gradient and temperature gradient gel electrophoresis for screening the degree of heterogeneity and total amount of HCV-IRES variability accumulated in HCV infected patients over a period of time. The selected samples showed variable migration pattern of the HCV-IRES (from all the patients) visualized in DGGE and TGGE, were sequenced and evaluated for translation efficiency using flow cytometry. In some cases, we discovered that multiple mutations, even those scattered across different domains of HCV-IRES, led to restoration of the HCV-IRES translational activity, although the individual occurrences of these mutations were found to be deleterious. We propose that such observation may be attributed to probable long- range inter- and/or intra-domain functional interactions. We established a large-scale HCV-IRES...

Les variants viraux impliqués dans la transmission du VHC ont rarement été étudiés en raison des difficultés rencontrées pour recruter des patients au stade de la primo-infection. Pour mener cette étude, nous avons analysé le goulot d’étranglement génétique subit par les quasi-espèces virales au cours de 3 accidents d’exposition au sang impliquant des représentants du personnel soignant contaminés par piqûre d’aiguille. En utilisant la technique d’amplification de génomes uniques nous avons obtenu les gènes codant les glycoprotéines d’enveloppe virales E1E2 des variants viraux présents dans ces quasi-espèces. Ces gènes ont été séquencés et soumis à une analyse phylogénétique. Nous avons ensuite pu étudier les propriétés phénotypiques des glycoprotéines d’enveloppe dérivées de variants qui apparaissent au stade très précoce de l’infection. Pendant cette période, le VHC pourrait être plus vulnérable à l’élimination par des vaccins préventifs ou par des immunothérapies. / Little is known about the transmitted variants responsible for the spread of HCV infection, principally because of the difficulties to recruit patients early enough in infection. To address this issue, we proposed to track the genetic bottleneck event in HCV quasispecies, leading to productive clinical infection in three health care workers accidentally contaminated through needlestick accidents. By using a single genome amplification (SGA) approach we identified genes coding the viral envelope glycoprotein E1E2 which composed these quasispecies. The E1E2 sequences were then directly sequenced and subjected to a phylogenetic analysis. By cloning these full-length E1E2 sequences, we investigated the phenotypic properties of the envelope glycoproteins potentially involved in selective HCV transmission and early stage of infection, a period during which the virus might be most vulnerable to elimination by preventive vaccines or immunotherapies.

Les arbovirus (dont le virus chikungunya, CHIKV) sont responsables de millions d'infections chaque année ; aucun vaccin n'est encore approuvé, et les traitements disponibles restent limités. De part leur circulation constante entre le moustique et l'humain, leur adaptation rapide à différents hôtes est un facteur clé pour leur pathogenèse. Le taux d'erreur particulièrement élevé de leur polymérase ARN permet une rapide diversification génique qui conduit à la génération d'un nuages de mutants, appelée quasi espèce. Les quasi espèces contiennent non seulement des génomes mutés, mais aussi des ARN recombinés à partir de deux génomes d'origine différente, ainsi que des génomes avec de grandes délétions, incapables de se répliquer sans l'aide d'un autre virion qui doit infection la même cellule, nommés génomes viraux défectifs (GVD). Une régulation étroite de la taille du nuage de mutants est clé pour une pathogenèse efficace : si trop petit, le potentiel adaptatif du virus sera impacté ; au contraire, une quasi-espèce trop grande peut mener à l'accumulation rapide de mutations délétères pour le virus. Alors que la régulation du paysage mutationnel est atteinte grâce à un taux d'erreur de la polymérase viral finement contrôlé, la recombinaison et la réplication des génomes défectifs sont influencés par le potentiel de co-infection des cellules cibles. Dans ce contexte, l'exclusion de la surinfection (ESI), un processus par lequel l'infection par un premier virus inhibe l'infection par un second virus, peut influer le dynamique de la quasi-espèce. Bien que décrite dans la plupart des familles virales, les mécanismes à l'origine de l'ESI restent mal caractérisés. Dans ce travail, je montre que CHIKV exclut une infection future par CHIKV, mais aussi par le virus Sindbis et le virus de la grippe A, mais non par le virus du Nil occidental. Je démontre que l'exclusion de CHIKV se situe au niveau de la pénétration du génome viral dans le cytoplasme, puis de sa réplication, mais n'influence ni l'attachement du virion ni la traduction de son génome. Je montre également que l'ESI est indépendant de l'action des interférons de type I, et qu'elle n'est médiée ni par la transcription cellulaire, ni par un facteur soluble. De plus, l'exclusion n'est pas due à une unique protéine virale, suggérant un potentiel rôle de la réponse cellulaire à l'infection.Déterminer l'influence des pressions immunologiques dans l'établissement de la quasi-espèce peut aider à une meilleure compréhension de l'interaction entre évolution virale et réponse immunitaire. Bien que la caractérisation non biaisée des mutations ponctuelles fût le fruit de nombreux travaux, les GVD restent peu caractérisées, en particulier chez les alphavirus. Dans la deuxième partie de ce travail, je développe des outils bio-informatiques pour isoler rapidement les GVD de données de séquençage à haut débit, et analyse les avantages et les inconvénients d'un ajout d'une étape de pré-amplification pour détecter et quantifier les GVD. À l'aide de ces outils, je fournis ensuite la première description complète des GVD produits par des passages séquentiels de CHIKV en culture cellulaire. En particulier, je montre que le type de GVD générés est très dépendants du type cellulaire, avec des motifs de séquences et des cadres de lecture ouverts différents lorsque les cellules hôtes sont des cellules de mammifère ou d'insecte. Ces résultats soulignent le role de l'environnement cellulaire dans le modelage de la quasi-espèce, et des GVD en particulier. Des travaux futurs aideront à dévoiler les mécanismes sous-jacents à cette interaction et pourraient permettre la conception de nouvelles stratégies thérapeutiques ciblant les dynamiques des quasi-espèces. / Arboviruses such as chikungunya virus (CHIKV) are responsible for millions of yearly infections, with no approved vaccines and limited treatments. Because they circulate between mosquitoes and humans, their fast adaptation potential to different hosts is key to pathogenesis. To achieve genome diversification, they rely on the error-prone nature of their self-encoded RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, which quickly generates a cloud of mutants, termed quasispecies. Quasispecies contain not only mutated genomes, but also shuffled genomes of different parental origin (through a process known as recombination), as well as genomes with large deletions, unable to replicate without the co-infection with a full-length helper genome, and thus termed defective viral genomes (DVGs). A tight regulation of the mutant cloud size is key to pathogenesis: if too small, it will limit the adaptation potential of the virus, whilst too big a quasispecies may lead to the fast accumulation of deleterious mutations. While regulation of the mutational landscape is achieved through the finely tuned error rate of the viral polymerase, recombination and DVG replication are influenced by the co-infection potential of the target cells.In this context, superinfection exclusion (SIE), a process by which infection by a first virus prevents infection by a second, closely related virus, can regulate quasispecies dynamics. While described in most viral families, mechanisms underlying SIE remain poorly characterised. Here, I show that CHIKV infection excludes subsequent infection by CHIKV, Sindbis virus and influenza A virus, but not West Nile virus. I demonstrate that CHIKV exclusion occurs at two steps, impacting independently viral penetration and replication, but does not directly influence binding, nor viral protein translation. I further show that SIE is interferon independent, and does not rely on host cell transcription nor on soluble cellular factors. Moreover, exclusion is not mediated by the action of a single CHIKV protein, suggesting that a cellular response may be at play. Assessing how different immunological pressures can shape quasispecies landscape may prove useful to a more thorough understanding of the interplay between viral evolution and the immune response. Although the unbiased study of point mutations has received much attention, less is known about the characteristics of DVGs, especially in alphaviruses. In the second part of this work, I develop bioinformatics tools to quickly isolate DVGs from next-generation sequencing data, and assess the advantages and drawbacks of pre-amplification steps to detect and quantify DVGs. Using these tools, I provide the first unbiased description of the DVG landscape generated through serial passaging of CHIKV in cell culture. In particular, I show that the DVG landscape is highly dependent on the cell type, with sequence patterns and open reading frames differing between DVGs generated in mammalian and insect cells. These results highlight the role of the cellular environment in shaping quasispecies, and DVGs in particular. Future work will help uncover the mechanisms underlying this crosstalk and may prove useful for the design of treatments targeting quasispecies dynamics.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology / Raymond R. R. Rowland / Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSV) is the most costly virus to the swine industry, worldwide. This study explored the application of deep sequencing techniques to understand better the virus-host interaction. On the virus side, PRRSV exists as a quasispecies. The first application of deep sequencing was to investigate amino acid substitutions in hypervariable regions during acute infection and after virus rebound. The appearance and disappearance of mutations, especially the generation of a new N-glycosylation site in GP5, indicated they are likely the result of immune selection. The second application of deep sequencing was to investigate the quasispecies makeup in pigs with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) that lack B and T cells. The results showed the same pattern of amino acid substitutions in SCID and normal littermates and no different mutations were identified between SCID and normal littermates. This suggests the mutations that appear during the early stages of infection are the product of the virus becoming adapted to replication in pigs. The third application of deep sequencing was to investigate the locations of recombination events between GFP-expressing PRRSV infectious clones. The results identified different cross-over occurred within three conserved regions between EGFP and GFPm genes. And finally, the fourth goal was applied to develop a set of sequencing tools for analyzing the host antibody repertoire. A simple method was developed to amplify swine VDJ repertoires. Shared and abundant VDJ sequences that are likely expressed by PRRSV-activated B cells were determined in pigs that had different neutralization activities. These sequences are potentially correlated with different antibody responses.

Eine Monotherapie mit Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) stellt eine hoch effiziente Therapie-option für multipel vorbehandelte Patienten mit chronischer Hepatitis-B-Virusinfektion (HBV) dar. Eine Resistenz gegen TDF wurde bislang nicht beschrieben, jedoch wird ein möglicher negativer Einfluss von Adefovir dipivoxil (ADV)-Resistenzvarianten auf die TDF-Ansprechrate diskutiert. Diese retrospektive Kohortenstudie untersucht die Dynamik von Nukleos(t)id-Analoga (NA)-Resistenzvarianten im HBV-Polymerasegen mit Fokus auf ADV-Resistenzvarianten bei 18 chronisch HBV-infizierten Patienten mit Therapieversagen auf eine vorangegangene Lamivudin (LAM)- und ADV-Therapie, sowie nur partiellem Therapieansprechen auf eine TDF-Monotherapie. Zur Detektion von NA-Resistenzvarianten wird eine HBV-Genomsequenzierung mit Tiefenpyrosequenzierung (Genome Sequencer FLX, Roche Diagnostics, Germany) (UDPS), direkte Sequenzierung (TRUGENETM HBV Genotyping Kit, OpenGeneTM DNA Sequencing Sys-tem, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostic, USA) (TG) und Line Probe Assay (INNO-LiPa DRv2 und v3, Innogenetics, Belgium) (INNO-LiPA) durchgeführt. Unter TDF kommt es zu einer quantitati-ven Shift zugunsten der ADV-Resistenzvarianten mit konstant bleibendem Anteil und deutlich höher persistierender Virämie zu Monat 12 im Vergleich zu Patienten ohne ADV-Resistenzvarianten. Vor allem werden die Varianten rtA181V und rtN236T selektiert, jedoch nicht die Variante rtA181T. Die absolute Anzahl der LAM-Resistenzvarianten hingegen halbiert sich. Varianten mit einem initial per UDPS detektierten Anteil von >20% der patientenspezifi-schen HBV-Population werden meist selektiert und nehmen im Verlauf den Hauptanteil der Quasispezies ein. UDPS stellte ein potentes Medium der Detektion, Identifikation und Quantifi-zierung von HBV-Varianten dar und ist INNO-LiPa und TG überlegen. Es ergibt sich kein Hin-weis auf TDF-Resistenzvarianten, jedoch zeigt das Vorliegen von ADV-Resistenzvarianten ei-nen tendentiell negativen Einfluss auf die virale Kinetik. Weitere größere Langzeitstudien sind zur Bestätigung dieser Beobachtung notwendig. / Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) is a highly efficient treatment option for nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA) pre-treated patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Little is known about the reasons for persistent virus replication in some rare cases. As of today, no TDF resistance variants have been identified, but a possible linkage to Adefovir dipivoxil (ADV) resistance associated variants negatively influencing HBV-DNA suppression by TDF has been suspected, based on the similarity of the chemical structure. In this retrospective cohort study the dynamics of NA resistance variants in the HBV polymerase gene with focus on ADV resistance variants were assessed. For this, we have chosen a cohort including patients with multiple failures to treatment with different NAs. Thus, data of 18 patients with previous treatment failure to LAM and ADV was analysed, showing a persistent viremia (HBV-DNA >35 copies/mL) despite switch to TDF monotherapy (median HBV-DNA at month 12 3,5±0,8 (2,1-4,9) log10 copies/mL). Sequencing analysis was performed with ultra-deep pyrosequencing (UDPS) (Genome Sequencer FLX, 454 Life Science, Roche Diagnostic, Branford, CT), direct sequencing (TG) (TRUGENETM HBV Genotyping Kit, OpenGeneTM DNA Sequencing System, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostic, USA) and line probe assay (INNO-LiPA) (INNO-LiPa DRv2/v3, Innogenetics, Belgium). Using TDF monotherapy, a quantitative shift in favour to ADV resistance variants was observed in this cohort. The percentage of substitutions conferring resistance to ADV at baseline (BL) and at the time of the last sequencing endpoint (EP) of the HBV genome remained constant (BL 35%, 13/37, EP 36%, 9/25). The variants rtA181V and rtN236T were mostly selected, whereas rtA181T was not selected. The total amount of substitutions conferring resistance to Lamivudin (LAM) showed a strong decline, however remained the majority part of all NA resistance variants (BL 51% (19/37), EP 40% (10/25)). The percentage of ETV resistance variants increased slightly (BL 14% (5/37), EP 24% (6/25)). Known ADV, Lam and ETV resistance variants emerged in variable abundance (1,0-99,6%) of quasispecies during TDF therapy. A homogenization of HBV quasispecies took place. Especially mutations occurring in higher abundance (>20% of viral population) were mostly selected (BL 51% (19/37), EP 80% (20/25)). No new HBV variants with possible association to resistance against TDF were identified, but patients with ADV resistance variants showed the highest HBV-DNA level at month 12 of TDF therapy (median HBV-DNA 3,57±0,72 (2,14-3,96) log10 copies/mL, not significant). A negative influence of ADV resistance variants on viral suppression with TDF monotherapy may be assumed, however more long-term studies are needed to confirm the role of ADV resistance variants in TDF therapy. UDPS is a potent medium for detection, identification and quantification of dominant to low level variants in HBV-DNA. It is superior to direct sequencing and line probe assay in the detection of variants.

Vector-borne diseases are an increasing global threat to humans due to climate changes, elevating the risk of infections transmitted by mosquitos, ticks, and other arthropod vectors. Ixodes ricinus, a common tick in Europe, transmits dangerous tick-borne pathogens to humans. Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is a vector-borne disease caused by TBE virus (TBEV). Climate change has contributed to increased tick abundance and incidence of tick-borne diseases, and between 10,000 and 15,000 human TBE cases are reported annually in Europe and Asia. TBEV shows a patchy geographical distribution pattern where each patch represents a natural focus. In nature, TBEV is maintained within the tick-rodent enzootic cycle. Co-feeding is the main route for TBEV transmission from infected to uninfected ticks and for maintenance within the natural foci. The increasing number of TBE cases in Scandinavia highlights the importance of characterizing additional TBEV sequences and of identifying novel natural foci, and in this work we sequenced and phylogenetically characterized four TBEV strains: Saringe-2009 (from a blood-fed nymph), JP-296 (from a questing adult male), JP-554 (from a questing adult male), and Mandal-2009 (from a pool of questing nymphs, n = 10). Mandal-2009 represents a TBEV genome from a natural focus in southern Norway. Saringe-2009 is from a natural endemic focus in northern Stockholm, Sweden, and JP-296 and JP-554 originate from a natural focus “Torö” in southern Stockholm. In addition, we have studied the effect of different biotic and abiotic factors on population dynamics of I. ricinus in southern Stockholm and observed significant spatiotemporal variations in tick activity patterns. Seasonal synchrony of immature stages and total tick abundance are important factors for the probability of horizontal transmission of TBEV among co-feeding ticks. We found that the probability of co-occurrence of larvae, nymphs, and female adults was highest during early summer whereas increasing vegetation height and increasing amounts of forest and open water around the study sites had a significant negative effect on co-occurrence of larvae, nymphs, and female adults. The proximal part of the 3 ́non-coding region (3 ́NCR) of TBEV contains an internal poly(A) tract, and genomic analysis of Saringe-2009 revealed variability in the poly(A) tract indicating the existence of different variants within the TBEV pool of Saringe-2009. Like other RNA viruses, TBEV exists as swarms of unique variants called quasispecies. Because Saringe-2009 came from an engorged nymph that had been feeding on blood for >60 h, we propose that Saringe-2009 represents a putative shift in the TBEV pool when the virus switches from ectothermic/tick to endothermic/mammalian environments. We investigated the role of poly(A) tract variability in replication and virulence of TBEV by generating two infectious clones of the TBEV strain Toro-2003, one with a short/wild-type (A)3C(A)6 poly(A) tract and one with a long (A)3C(A)38 poly(A) tract. The infectious clone with the long poly(A) tract showed poor replication in cell culture but was more virulent in C57BL/6 mice than the wild-type clone. RNA folding predictions of the TBEV genomes suggested that insertion of a long poly(A) tract abolishes a stem loop structure at the beginning of the 3 ́NCR. Next generation sequencing (NGS) analysis of the TBEV genomes after passaging in cell culture and/or mouse brain revealed molecular determinants and quasispecies structure that might contribute to the observed differences in virulence. Our findings suggest that the long poly(A) tract imparts instability to the TBEV genome resulting in higher quasispecies diversity that in turn contributes to TBEV virulence. Phylogenetic analysis of Saringe-2009, JP-296, JP-554, and Mandal-2009 predicted a strong evolutionary relationship among the four strains. They clustered with Toro-2003, the first TBEV strain from Torö, demonstrating a Scandinavian clade. Except for the proximal part of the 3 ́NCR, TBEV is highly conserved in its genomic structure. Genomic analysis revealed that Mandal-2009 contains a truncated 3 ́NCR similar to the highly virulent strain Hypr, whereas JP-296 and JP-554 have a genomic organization identical to Toro-2003, the prototypic TBEV strain from the same natural focus. NGS revealed significantly higher quasispecies diversity for JP-296 and JP-554 compared to Mandal-2009. In addition, single nucleotide polymerphism (SNP) analysis showed that 40% of the SNPs were common between quasispecies populations of JP-296 and JP-554, indicating the persistence and maintenance of TBEV quasispecies within the natural focus. Taken together, these findings indicate the importance of environmental factors for the occurrence pattern of the different life-stages of the tick vector, which are important for the persistence of TBEV in nature. Our findings also show that the selection pressure exerted by specific host also affects the population structure of the TBEV quasispecies. In addition, our results further demonstrate that the evolution of quasispecies has effect on TBEV virulence in mice. / Vektorburna sjukdomar är ett växande globalt hot mot både människor och djur. De pågående klimatförändringarna kan leda till förhöjda risker för infektioner överförda av myggor, fästingar och andra leddjursvektorer. Ixodes ricinus är en vanlig fästing i Europa som överför fästingburna patogener som är farliga för människor. Fästingburen encefalit (TBE) är en vektorburen sjukdom som orsakas av TBE-virus (TBEV). De pågående klimatförändringarna har bidragit till en ökning både av vektorn och sjukdomsfrekvensen. Mellan 10 000 och 15 000 mänskliga TBE-fall rapporteras årligen i Europa och Asien. Den geografiska fördelningen av TBEV visar ett ojämnt fördelningsmönster där viruset är koncentrerat till vissa fokusområden. TBEV återfinns i naturen i en livscykel där viruset hela tiden överförs mellan fästingar och däggdjur. Spridningen sker dels från en infekterad fästing till ett ryggradsdjur när fästingen äter på värddjuret. Spridning mellan fästingar sker troligen främst genom så kallad “co-feeding”, det vill säga att flera fästingar suger blod samtidigt från samma värddjur. Viruset kan då passera från en infekterad fästing, genom värddjuret till oinfekterade fästingar. Virus kan identifieras och studeras med genetiska metoder. Det ökande antalet TBE-fall i Skandinavien styrker vikten av att hitta och karakterisera ytterligare TBEV-stammar och identifiera nya naturliga fokusområden. Vi har sekvenserat och fylogenetiskt beskrivit fyra TBEV-stammar: Saringe-2009 (blodfylld nymf), JP-296 (födosökande vuxen hane), JP-554 (födosökande vuxen hane) och Mandal-2009 (födosökande nymfer, n = 10). Mandal-2009 är ett TBEV från ett naturligt fokusområde i södra Norge. Saringe-2009 kommer från ett naturligt fokusområde i norra Stockholms län, Sverige. JP-296 och JP-554 härstammar från Torö som är ett naturligt fokusområde i södra Stockholms län, Sverige. Förutom den genetiska sekvenseringen av TBEV har vi också studerat effekten av olika biotiska och abiotiska faktorer på populationsdynamik av I. ricinus i södra Stockholm och observerade variation i fästingsaktivitetsmönster både temporalt och spatialt. Förekomstmönster av fästinglarver, nymfer och vuxna honor, och det totala antalet fästingar är viktiga faktorer för sannolikheten för horisontell överföring av TBEV mellan fästingar. Vi fann att sannolikheten för synkron förekomst av larver, nymfer och honor var högst under försommaren. Vegetationshöjd, mängden skog och mängd öppet vatten runt undersökningsområden hade signifikanta negativa effekter på sannolikheten för att larver, nymfer och honor skulle förekomma samtidigt. Den variabla delen av den icke-kodande 3 ́regionen (3'NCR) av TBEV-genomet innehåller ofta en intern poly(A)-sekvens. Liksom andra RNA-virus, förekommer TBEV som så kallade ”quasispecies” vilka definieras som grupper av olika genetiska varianter av virus. Genom analysen av TBEV-stam Saringe-2009 avslöjades variation i poly(A)-sekvensen vilket indikerar förekomst av ”quasispecies”. Eftersom Saringe-2009 kom från en blodfylld nymf som hade sugit blod i > 60 timmar, föreslår vi att Saringe-2009 visar en förändring i ”quasispecies”-poolen när viruset överförs från exoterm fästingmiljö till endoterm däggdjursmiljö. Vi undersökte poly(A)-ekvensens variabilitet och dess roll vid replikering och för virulens hos TBEV, genom att skapa två infektiösa kloner av Torö-2003 stammen; en med en kort/vild-typ (A)3C(A)6 poly(A)-sekkvens, och en med en lång (A)3C(A)38 poly(A)-sekvens. Den infektiösa klonen med lång poly(A)-sekvens replikerade sämre än vildtypklonen i cellkultur, men (A)3C(A)38 poly(A) var mer virulent i C57BL/6-möss än (A)3C(A)6 poly(A). Datasimulering av TBEV-genomets sekundär-RNA-struktur visade att de längre poly(A)-sekvenserna påverkar veckningen av en specifik sekundärstruktur (SL14) i början av 3 ́NCR. Djupsekvenseringsanalys av TBEV-gnomen avslöjade skillnader för specifika gener och ”quasispecies”-strukturen efter passering i cellkultur och/eller mushjärna. Dessa förändringar föreslås bidra till de observerade skillnaderna i virulens. Våra resultat indikerar att den långa poly(A)-sekvensen ger instabilitet i TBEV-genomet, vilket resulterar i ökad mångfald av ”quasispecies”-populationen som i sin tur kan bidra till TBEV-virulens. Fylogenetisk analys av Saringe-2009, JP-296, JP-554 och Mandal-2009 visade på ett nära släktskap mellan de fyra skandinaviska TBEV-stammarna. De nya stammarna formerade ett kluster med en tidigare TBEV-stam identifierad på Torö (Toro-2003), vilket skapade ett skandinaviskt klad. Genetisk analys visade att Mandal-2009 innehåller en trunkerad 3 ́NCR som liknar den högvirulenta stammen HYPR. JP-296 och JP-554 hade däremot samma genetiska struktur som den längre Torö-2003 stammen från samma fokusområde. Djupsekvensering visade höge mångfald av ”quasispecies”-populationen för JP-296 och JP- 554 jämfört med Mandal-2009. Analys av enkel nukleotid polymorfism (SNP) visade att 40 % av alla SNP var gemensamma mellan ”quasispecies”-populationen för JP-296 och JP-554. Detta indikerar att TBEV-”quasispecies”-strukturen kan vara konserverad för närbesläktade virus vilken kan leda till att den bevaras inom specifika fokusområden. Sammantaget så visar dessa studier att miljöfaktorer påverkar förekomsten av fästingvektorn och dess olika livsstadier, vilket är en bakomliggande faktor för utbredning av TBEV i naturliga fokusområden. Det visar även på att värdmiljön påverkar strukturen för ”quasispecies”-populationen. Dessutom visar våra studier att evolution och utveckling av ”quasispecies”-strukturen kan påverka virulensen för TBEV i möss.

La grippe est une infection respiratoire responsable de complications respiratoires ou neurologiques nécessitant une prise en charge rapide et adaptée. L’émergence des technologies de séquençage à haut débit (NGS) permet l’étude des communautés microbiennes résidentes ainsi qu’une étude approfondie du génome des pathogènes impliqués. Cette thèse a pour objectif de caractériser le microbiome respiratoire et la diversité génomique virale des patients infectés par les virus grippaux, en corrélant les données clinicobiologiques recueillies. Après recueil des prélèvements respiratoires d’enfants hospitalisés entre 2010 et 2014, le séquençage de leur microbiome respiratoire a mis en évidence une augmentation de la diversité microbienne ainsi qu’une signature microbienne différentielle entre formes cliniques. Une répartition différentielle de taxons (OTU) permet la prédiction de complications chez les enfants infectés. L’étude d’échantillons respiratoires de patients adultes permettra de compléter la signature prédictive. Après validation des processus analytiques et bioinformatiques par reconstitution artificielles de quasi espèces et recueil de 125 prélèvements cliniques respiratoires, le séquençage du génome entier par NGS des virus grippaux permet de différencier les diversités initiales en fonction de la nature du virus infectant et de la complication. En comparaison du prélèvement initial précoce les échantillons prélevés successivement mettent en évidence une diversification différentielle entre les différents segments des virus grippaux infectant les patients, que ce soit chez les patients immunocompétents ou chez un patient immunodéprimé à l’excrétion prolongé / Influenza is a respiratory infection responsible for respiratory or neurological complications and require rapid and adapted management. The emergence of next-generation sequencing (NGS) allows the study of resident microbial communities as well as an in-depth study of the genome of the pathogens. This thesis aimed to characterize the respiratory microbiome and the viral genomic diversity of influenza virus infected patients, correlating these data to the collected clinical data. After sampling of respiratory specimens from hospitalized children between 2010 and 2014, the sequencing of their respiratory microbiome revealed an increase in microbial diversity and a differential microbial signature between clinical forms. A differential taxon distribution (OTU) allows the prediction of complications in infected children. The study of adult respiratory samples will complete the predictive signature.After validation of the analytical and bioinformatic processes by artificial reconstitution of quasi-species and collection of 125 respiratory clinical specimens, the sequencing of the whole genome by NGS of the influenza viruses allow to differentiate the initial diversities according to the nature of the infecting virus and the complication. Compared to early samples, specimen sampled successively show a differential diversification between the different segments of influenza viruses, whether in immunocompetent patients or in an immunocompromised patient with prolonged excretion