ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Virology
Genetic Evolution and Codon Usage Mode of SFTSV
Provisionally accepted
- 1Shandong University, Jinan, China
- 2Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, China
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Since its initial identification in Henan Province, China (2009), the severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) has been detected in 26 Chinese provinces and remains a significant public health threat. However, genetic characterization and molecular evolution of SFTSV, particularly regarding codon usage bias, remain understudied. In this study, we analyzed blood samples collected in 2022 from six suspected SFTS cases in Jinan, Shandong Province, along with whole-genome sequences from the ViPR and GenBank databases (updated through July 2023). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the detected viral strains belonged to genotypes C3 and C1. Using RDP4, we identified 99 potential recombination events among 89 viral strains. Codon usage analyses, including ENC-plot, parity rule 2 (PR2) analysis, and neutral evolution analysis, demonstrated weak codon usage bias in SFTSV. Our findings indicate that both natural selection and mutational pressure shape codon usage patterns, with natural selection predominating in four SFTSV genes. This study highlights the expanding evolutionary diversity of SFTSV and elucidates its codon usage characteristics, providing critical insights for SFTSV surveillance, disease control, and targeted vaccine development.
Keywords: codon usage bias, evolution, Reassortment, recombination, SFTSV
Received: 24 Oct 2025; Accepted: 04 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Hu, Li, Wei, Shen, Li, Sai, Song and Xu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Li Song
Yifei Xu
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