The contrasting phylodynamics of human influenza B viruses

Dhanasekaran Vijaykrishna, Edward C Holmes, Udayan Joseph, Mathieu Fourment, Yvonne CF Su, Rebecca Halpin, Raphael TC Lee, Yi-Mo Deng, Vithiagaran Gunalan, Xudong Lin, Timothy B Stockwell, Nadia B Fedorova, Bin Zhou, Natalie Spirason, Denise Kuhnert, Veronika Boskova, Tanja Stadler, Anna-Maria Costa, Dominic E Dwyer, Q Sue HuangLance C Jennings, William Rawlinson, Sheena G Sullivan, Aeron C Hurt, Sebastian Maurer-Stroh, David E Wentworth, Gavin JD Smith, Ian G Barr

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

    166 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    A complex interplay of viral, host and ecological factors shape the spatio-temporal incidence and evolution of human influenza viruses. Although considerable attention has been paid to influenza A viruses, a lack of equivalent data means that an integrated evolutionary and epidemiological framework has until now not been available for influenza B viruses, despite their significant disease burden. Through the analysis of over 900 full genomes from an epidemiological collection of more than 26,000 strains from Australia and New Zealand, we reveal fundamental differences in the phylodynamics of the two co-circulating lineages of influenza B virus (Victoria and Yamagata), showing that their individual dynamics are determined by a complex relationship between virus transmission, age of infection and receptor binding preference. In sum, this work identifies new factors that are important determinants of influenza B evolution and epidemiology.
    Original languageEnglish
    Article numbere05055
    Number of pages23
    JournaleLife
    Volume4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 16 Jan 2015

    Keywords

    • antigenic drift
    • epidemiology
    • evolution
    • evolutionary biology
    • genomics
    • human
    • infectious disease
    • influenza virus
    • microbiology
    • viruses

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