Analysis of the genomic homologous recombination in Theilovirus based on complete genomes

At present, Theilovirus is considered to comprise four distinct serotypes, including Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus, Vilyuisk human encephalomyelitis virus, Thera virus, and Saffold virus. So far, there is no systematical study that investigated the genomic recombination of Theilovirus. The present study performed the phylogenetic and recombination analysis of Theilovirus over the complete genomes. Seven potentially significant recombination events were identified. However, according to the strains information and references related to the recombinants and their parental strains, four of the recombination events might happen non-naturally. These results will provide valuable hints for future research on evolution and antigenic variability of Theilovirus.