Molecular evolution of dengue virus: Bayesian approach considering 1,581 whole genome sequences from January 1944 to July 2022

Abstract Dengue is a viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes that has spread rapidly across all continents in recent years. There are four distinct but closely related serotypes of the virus that causes dengue (DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3, and DENV-4). The present study evaluated dengue virus (DENV) serotypes' temporal spreading and molecular evolution worldwide. Bayesian coalescent analyses with was performed to study viral evolution. The results demonstrated that the tMRCA of DENV-1 was 1884-11-15 in Southeast Asia, DENV-2 was 1723-01-29 in Europe, DENV-3 was 1921-04-12 in Southeast Asia, and DENV-4 was 1876-03-28 in Southeast Asia. The origin of the DENV was in Spain in 1682, later it was disseminated in Asia and Oceania in 1847. After this period, the virus presented dissemination in North America in 1890. In South America, it was first disseminated to Ecuador in 1897 and then to Brazil in 1910. The dengue disease has had a significant impact on global health worldwide and the present study provides an overview of the molecular evolution of DENV serotypes.