Genomics, proteomics and evolution of dengue virus Vivek Dhar Dwivedi, Indra Prasad Tripathi, Ramesh Chandra Tripathi, Shiv Bharadwaj, and Sarad Kumar Mishra Corresponding author: Sarad Kumar Mishra, Department of Biotechnology, D.D.U. Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur 273009, India. Tel.: +91-9450682713; E-mail: mishrask2000@yahoo.com Abstract The genome of a pathogenic organism possesses a specific order of nucleotides that contains not only information about the synthesis and expression of proteomes, which are required for its growth and survival, but also about its evolution. Inhibition of any particular protein, which is required for the survival of that pathogenic organism, can be used as a poten- tial therapeutic target for the development of effective drugs to treat its infections. In this review, the genomics, proteomics and evolution of dengue virus have been discussed, which will be helpful in better understanding of its origin, growth, sur- vival and evolution, and may contribute toward development of new efficient anti-dengue drugs. Key words: dengue virus; serotypes; proteomics; genomics; evolution Introduction Dengue virus (DENV) of Flaviviridae family has emerged as the fatal pathogen, which is transmitted in human population by the nimble (day-biting) of Aedes aegypti female mosquito and causes a serious health problem called dengue fever. Both types of dengue fever, dengue hemorrhagic fever [1–8] and dengue shock syndrome, are deadly infections of five different sero- types of this virus (DENV 1–5) [9–14]. DENV contains 10 723 nu- cleotides in a single-strand positive RNA genome, which encodes a large polyprotein precursor of 3391 amino-acid resi- dues. The polyprotein of DENV comprises three structural pro- teins (C, prM and E) and seven nonstructural proteins (NS1, NS2A, NS2B, NS3, NS4A, NS4B and NS5) [15–19]. Each protein performs a specific function and helps to produce new virus particle by using the host cell machinery. All the serotypes of DENV cause severe and critical health problems. Each serotype provides specific lifetime immunity and short-term cross-im- munity. There is genetic variation within each serotype and some genetic variants of each serotype emerge to be more viru- lent or have greater ‘epidemic’ potential. The complete genome of ‘only four different serotypes’ have been sequenced and the three-dimensional structures of many of these viral proteins have been determined [20, 21], which are being used for the screening of novel antiviral compounds against DENV. The above-stated facts emphasize that the genomic, proteomic and evolutionary information about this human fatal pathogen is not only required to understand the origin, growth, survival and evolution but also for the development of effective drugs to treat its infections. Genomics The genome of a pathogenic organism possesses a specific order of nucleotides that contains not only information about the synthesis and expression of proteomes, which are required for its growth and survival but also about its evolution. The Vivek Dhar Dwivedi is a PhD scholar of the Faculty of Science and Environment at M.G.C.G. Vishwavidyalaya, Chitrakoot, Satna, MP, India, who is inter- ested in the identification of novel antiviral compounds against dengue virus. Indra Prasad Tripathi is a Professor and Dean of Faculty of Science and Environment at M.G.C.G. Vishwavidyalaya, Chitrakoot, Satna, MP, India, who is working in the field of Chemical Biology, Catalysis and Analytical Chemistry. Ramesh Chandra Tripathi is an Associate Professor in Faculty of Science and Environment at M.G.C.G. Vishwavidyalaya, Chitrakoot, Satna, MP, India. Shiv Bharadwaj is a postdoctoral fellow in Nanotechnology Research and Application Center at Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey, who is working in the area of Nanotechnology and Bioinformatics. Sarad Kumar Mishra is a Professor in the Department of Biotechnology at D.D.U. Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur, UP, India, who is working in the area of Enzyme Technology and Antiviral Research. V C The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com 1 Briefings in Functional Genomics, 2017, 1–11 doi: 10.1093/bfgp/elw040 Review paper Briefings in Functional Genomics Advance Access published January 10, 2017 by guest on January 11, 2017 http://bfg.oxfordjournals.org/ Downloaded from