Bioinformatic analysis of envelope gene of the dengue type 3 prevalent in India from 2005 onwards and comparison with dengue type 1

Abstract

High incidence of dengue infection, particularly dengue serotypes 1 and 3, has been observed across India in the last few years with large number of fatalities. Since the surface situated envelope protein of the dengue virion is responsible for virus entry into the host cell, we have focused on the characterisation and analyses of the envelope gene with an aim to eventually develop inhibitors of the dengue virus. Two-dimensional graphical representations and phylogenetic relationships of the envelope gene show an inherent cross-national spread of the dengue virus. Moreover, hydropathy analysis shows amino acid compositional changes leading to morphological changes in the envelope protein and perhaps higher pathogenicity. We also found evidences of recombination-like events taking place in some of the genes of the full dengue type 3 genome. These observations serve to show the urgency of comprehensive genetic surveillance of the dengue virus to anticipate further damaging changes in the viral sequence.