Robinson, ChristopherZhou, XiaohongRajaiya, JayaYousuf, Mohammad AbuSingh, GurdeepDeSerres, Joshua J.Walsh, Michael P.Wong, SalleneSeto, DonaldDyer, David W.Chodosh, JamesJones, Morris S.2013-08-232013Robinson, Christopher M., Xiaohong Zhou, Jayabarathy Rajaiya, Mohammad Abu Yousuf, Gurdeep Singh, Joshua J. DeSerres, Michael P. Walsh, et al. 2013. Predicting the next eye pathogen: Analysis of a novel adenovirus. mBio 4(2): e00595-12.2150-7511http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:10978157For DNA viruses, genetic recombination, addition, and deletion represent important evolutionary mechanisms. Since these genetic alterations can lead to new, possibly severe pathogens, we applied a systems biology approach to study the pathogenicity of a novel human adenovirus with a naturally occurring deletion of the canonical penton base Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) loop, thought to be critical to cellular entry by adenoviruses. Bioinformatic analysis revealed a new highly recombinant species D human adenovirus (HAdV-D60). A synthesis of in silico and laboratory approaches revealed a potential ocular tropism for the new virus. In vivo, inflammation induced by the virus was dramatically greater than that by adenovirus type 37, a major eye pathogen, possibly due to a novel alternate ligand, Tyr-Gly-Asp (YGD), on the penton base protein. The combination of bioinformatics and laboratory simulation may have important applications in the prediction of tissue tropism for newly discovered and emerging viruses.en-USJournal Article2013-08-2310.1128/mBio.00595-12