©FUNPEC-RP www.funpecrp.com.br Genetics and Molecular Research 21 (1): gmr18984 Circulation and molecular characterization of Chikungunya virus (Togaviridae) reveals a new mutation (E2-N207D) in Espirito Santo, Brazil D.P. Ventorim¹, F.M.G.S. Rodrigues¹, L.A. Vianna¹ , ², R.S. Dettogni 1 , E.V.W. dos Santos 1 , I.D. Louro¹ and M. Oliveira-Silva¹ ¹ Núcleo de Genética Humana e Molecular, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brasil ² Laboratório Central do Espírito Santo (LACEN), Secretaria de Saúde do Espírito Santo, Governo do Estado do Espírito Santo, Vitória, Espírito Santo, Brasil Corresponding author: E.V.W. dos Santos E-mail: eldamariavw@yahoo.com.br Genet. Mol. Res. 21 (1): gmr18984 Received October 14, 2021 Accepted December 21, 2021 Published January 31, 2022 DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.4238/gmr18984 ABSTRACT. Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an RNA virus from the family Togaviridae transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes. The first report of CHIKV infection in Brazil dates to 2014; since then, the virus has become a major public health challenge. The main goal of this study was to perform a phylogenetic analysis of CHIKV isolates from febrile patients from Espirito Santo (ES) state during the 2017 outbreak to identify the genetic diversity of circulating CHIKV strains. CHIKV RT-qPCR confirmed cases were sequenced for phylogenetic relationship inferences and molecular characterization. Phylogenetic results showed that the virus in the 2017 ES outbreak belongs to the ECSA genotype. Molecular characterization revealed a new mutation in ES strains (E2-