Genomic characterization of Zika virus isolated from Indonesia

- Zika virus was isolated from a patient with mild febrile illness in Sumatra, Indonesia.
- The virus was successfully isolated and the near-complete genome was sequenced.
- Evolutionary and phylogenetic analyses of the genome were performed.
- The Indonesia Zika virus isolate was grouped into Asian lineage.
- The virus was not closely related to strains from the Brazilian nor Singapore outbreaks.

Zika virus (ZIKV) JMB-185 strain was isolated from a febrile patient in Jambi, Indonesia in 2014. To understand its genetic characteristics, we performed whole genome sequencing using the Ion Torrent PGM platform on the supernatant of the first passage. The phylogenetic analysis showed that the isolate was not closely related to the Brazilian ZIKV associated with microcephaly or isolates from the recent Singapore Zika outbreak. Molecular evolution analysis indicated that JMB-185 strain may have been circulating in the Southeast Asia region, including Indonesia since 2000. We observed high nucleotide sequence identity between Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, and American strains although unique amino acid substitutions were also observed. This report provides information on the genomic characteristics of Indonesian ZIKV which may be used for further studies.