August 30, 2016 SPADA Meeting Book

Diversity of Variola virus ~200 kb dsDNA, ~200 ORFs • Diversity of Variola virus strains is associated with geographic distance • Alastrim minor (South America) / Variola major (Asia): ~600 SNPs, ~80 Indels Al t i i / V i l i t di t (W t Af i ) 350 SNP 45 I d l • as r m m nor ar o a n erme a e es r ca : ~ s, ~ n e s • Variola African minor/major / Variola major (Asia): ~150 SNPs, ~30 Indels • Central region: virion structural proteins, enzymes - 30 gene sequences are perfectly conserved or have only synonymous SNPs, highly conserved, essential function. • Left and Right end regions: Host range and immunomodulatory genes - majority of Indels/frameshift mutations, fragmented sequences, additional/absent of ORFs, - likely reflecting selection pressures.

• Versus other Orthopoxviruses : • Variola / Camelpox-Taterapox viruses :

~3200 SNPs, ~380 Indels ~7500 SNPs, ~600 Indels

• Variola / Monkeypox virus :

Diagnostics/Environmental Detection

“If further development of procedures for the environmental detection of Variola virus or for diagnostic purposes were to be pursued, more extensive knowledge of the genome variability, predicted protein sequences, virion surface structure, and functionality of Variola virus from widely dispersed geographic sources would be needed.*”

* Assessment of Future Scientific Needs for Live Variola Virus ; N.A.Press (1999)