Re-assembly of nineteenth-century smallpox vaccine genomes reveals the contemporaneous use of horsepox and horsepox-related viruses in the USA

Brinkmann, Annika; Souza, Aline R V; Esparza, José; Nitsche, Andreas; Damaso, Clarissa R.

doi:10.1186/s13059-020-02202-0

Cited by 15 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…One of the main differences to today’s VACV are 10.7-kb and 5.5-kb insertions at the genomes’ ends. Vaccines from the US Civil War era (1859–1873) consist of true horsepox virus including the insertions, but also VACV-like viruses with and without the insertions as well as intermediates with only one insertion and end-to-end duplications, including a right-to-left duplication covering the MPXV homologue genes MPXVgp172 – MPXVgp182 [53,54]. Early VACV was disseminated through serial arm-to-arm transmission, with possible gene loss as an adaption to the host.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Possible adaption of the 2022 Monkeypox virus to the human host through gene duplication and loss

Brinkmann

Kohl

Pape

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Poxviruses are known to evolve slower than RNA viruses, with rearrangements such as gene gain and loss as the main driver for host adaption. In 2022 the world is being challenged by the largest global outbreak so far of Monkeypox virus, and the virus seems to have established itself in the human community. Here we report five MPXV genomes with extensive gene duplication and loss, including duplications of up to 18,000 bp to the opposed genome end, and deletions at the site of insertion of up to 16,000 bp, as a possible adaption to the human host.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Possible adaption of the 2022 Monkeypox virus to the human host through gene duplication and loss

Brinkmann

Kohl

Pape

et al. 2022

Preprint

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“…Despite being the first vaccine ever generated in the world, the history of the smallpox vaccine is still full of mysteries, and little is known about the evolutionary relationships of the various VACV strains used as the smallpox vaccine [ 7 , 11 , 15 , 19 , 26 ]. Here we analyzed the genetic makeup of three clones isolated from a VACV-Wyeth seed sample produced in 1971.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Advances in massive sequencing technologies over the past decade have allowed for a better understanding of the genetic relationships between different smallpox vaccines [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. In this context, the complete genomic sequencing of Lister, IOC and Dryvax vaccine strains showed high genetic diversity among clonal isolates obtained from a single vaccine vial, especially in the genome ends where virulence genes are located [ 12 , 17 , 20 , 21 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genomic Characterization of the Historical Smallpox Vaccine Strain Wyeth Isolated from a 1971 Seed Vial

Cruz

Luques

Castiñeiras

et al. 2022

Viruses

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The Wyeth strain of vaccinia virus (VACV) produced by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals was supposedly used to manufacture the old freeze-dried American smallpox vaccine, Dryvax, until its discontinuation in 2008. Although the genomic sequences of numerous Dryvax clones have been reported, data on VACV-Wyeth genomes are still lacking. Genomic analysis of old VACV strains is relevant to understand the evolutionary relationships of smallpox vaccines, particularly with the recent resumption of smallpox vaccination in certain population groups as an attempt to control the worldwide monkeypox outbreak. Here we analyzed the complete genome sequences of three VACV-Wyeth clonal isolates obtained from a single seed vial donated to the Brazilian eradication program in the 1970s. Wyeth clones show >99.3% similarity to each other and >95.3% similarity with Dryvax clones, mapping together in clade I of the vaccinia group. Although the patterns of SNPs and INDELs comparing Dryvax and Wyeth clones are overall uniform, important differences were detected particularly at the ends of the genome. In addition, we detected recombinant events of clone Wyeth A111 and the Dryvax clone Acam2000, suggesting that other regions of the genomes may have similar patchy patterns of recombination. A small-scale serological survey using VACV-Wyeth as antigen in ELISA assays revealed that 63 of the 65 individuals born before the end of smallpox vaccination in Brazil still have anti-VACV IgG antibodies, demonstrating the usefulness of the VACV-Wyeth strain in future extended serological studies of the Brazilian population.

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“…For example, a 5700-year-old birch pitch reflecting an ancient human oral environment indicated the existence of the Epstein-Barr virus within the microbiome [47]. Vaccinia virus, one of the orthopoxviruses, has also been discovered on vaccination kits from the 1860s, indicating vaccination materials at the early stage of vaccination development [48][49][50].…”

Section: Historical Samplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detection of Ancient Viruses and Long-Term Viral Evolution

Nishimura

Fujito

Sugimoto

et al. 2022

Viruses

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The COVID-19 outbreak has reminded us of the importance of viral evolutionary studies as regards comprehending complex viral evolution and preventing future pandemics. A unique approach to understanding viral evolution is the use of ancient viral genomes. Ancient viruses are detectable in various archaeological remains, including ancient people’s skeletons and mummified tissues. Those specimens have preserved ancient viral DNA and RNA, which have been vigorously analyzed in the last few decades thanks to the development of sequencing technologies. Reconstructed ancient pathogenic viral genomes have been utilized to estimate the past pandemics of pathogenic viruses within the ancient human population and long-term evolutionary events. Recent studies revealed the existence of non-pathogenic viral genomes in ancient people’s bodies. These ancient non-pathogenic viruses might be informative for inferring their relationships with ancient people’s diets and lifestyles. Here, we reviewed the past and ongoing studies on ancient pathogenic and non-pathogenic viruses and the usage of ancient viral genomes to understand their long-term viral evolution.

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Re-assembly of nineteenth-century smallpox vaccine genomes reveals the contemporaneous use of horsepox and horsepox-related viruses in the USA

Cited by 15 publications

References 14 publications

Possible adaption of the 2022 Monkeypox virus to the human host through gene duplication and loss

Possible adaption of the 2022 Monkeypox virus to the human host through gene duplication and loss

Genomic Characterization of the Historical Smallpox Vaccine Strain Wyeth Isolated from a 1971 Seed Vial

Detection of Ancient Viruses and Long-Term Viral Evolution

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