A Comparative Study of Mayaro Virus TRVL and BeAr Strains

Abstract

Mayaro virus (MAYV) is an arthritogenic alphavirus and the causative agent of Mayaro fever, which is characterized by myalgia, arthralgia, high fever, and maculopapular rash. Currently, the distribution of MAYV is limited to Central and South America, where it causes sporadic outbreaks. However, in recent years, there have been concerns about its potential emergence into urban transmission cycles. Phylogenetically, MAYV is divided into three distinct genotypes: D, L, and N. In this study, we investigate two MAYV strains: TRVL (genotype D) and BeAr (genotype L). To compare the replication and transcription efficiencies between the two strains, we implement a trans-replication system, in which the expression of alphavirus replicase and RNA replication are uncoupled. Our study indicates that the replicase of the TRVL strain is more active in human cells, whereas the replicase of the BeAr strain is more active in mosquito cells. The differences in replicase activity between the strains are driven by determinants located both within the replicase itself and within conserved sequence elements. Lastly, our experiments demonstrate that TRVL and BeAr strains are capable of co-infection.