Exclusive and Common Subsets of Zika Virus Polyprotein Mutants

Abstract

Two subsets of Zika virus (ZIKV) polyprotein amino acid positions are identified. One subset (Exclusive) consists of mutating amino acid positions which were found only in polyproteins isolated from ZIKV of human origin. A second subset (Common) consists of mutating amino acid positions which were found both in ZIKV polyproteins of human origin and in ZIKV polyproteins of Aedes species mosquito origin. The dominance of the Exclusive subset in the polyprotein was found to range from the N-terminus structural proteins until non-structural protein NS3. Although no longer greater than the Common subset, elements of the Exclusive subset existed almost to the C-terminus of non-structural protein NS5. These results are considered in the context of reported epitopic and other biological characteristics of ZIKV.