Distinct genomic features of Transeurasian strains of Epstein-Barr virus in East Asia

Hiroshi Kitamura; Iwao Kukimoto; Misako Yajima; Kazufumi Ikuta; Kenroh Sasaki; Teru Kanda

doi:10.1016/j.virol.2024.110359

Distinct genomic features of Transeurasian strains of Epstein-Barr virus in East Asia

Virology. 2024 Dec 12:603:110359. doi: 10.1016/j.virol.2024.110359. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Hiroshi Kitamura¹, Iwao Kukimoto², Misako Yajima³, Kazufumi Ikuta⁴, Kenroh Sasaki⁵, Teru Kanda⁶

Affiliations

¹ Division of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.
² Pathogen Genomics Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan.
³ National Research Center for the Control and Prevention of Infectious Diseases, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
⁴ Division of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan; Department of Clinical Laboratory Science, Medical Science and Technology, School of Health Science, College of Medical, Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan.
⁵ Division of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Sendai, Japan.
⁶ Division of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 39721196
DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2024.110359

Abstract

More than 95% of adult humans worldwide are latently infected with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Recent studies indicated that different EBV strains colonize different regions of Asia, where nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is endemic (southern China) or non-endemic (Japan/Korea). We searched for viral single nucleotide variant markers throughout the EBV genome by comparing the coding sequences of Japanese/Korean and NPC-endemic Chinese strains. We identified BamHI D fragment leftward reading frame 1 (BDLF1), BDLF2, and BDLF3 genes as viral geographical markers for distinguishing Japanese/Korean EBV strains from NPC-endemic Chinese EBV strains. Most significantly, BDLF-based EBV genotyping indicated that NPC-non-endemic Chinese and Mongolian EBV strains belong to the same group as Japanese/Korean EBV strains. We conclude that a particular type of EBV, designated as Transeurasian EBV, is prevalent among Transeurasian language speakers (Japanese, Korean, and Mongolian populations) and NPC-non-endemic Chinese populations.

Keywords: East Asia; Epstein-Barr virus; Single nucleotide variant; Transeurasian language.