Evolutionary Dynamics of Human Parainfluenza Virus Type 1 Based on the Hemagglutinin-Neuraminidase Gene.

To elucidate the evolutionary dynamics of human parainfluenza virus type 1 (HPIV1), we obtained 78 Chinese HPIV1 hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) gene sequences between 2011 and 2017-2023 and generated two databases: global (482 sequences, 1956-2023) and Chinese HPIV1 (122 sequences, 2011-2023). Our results showed that global HPIV1 circulating since the 1990s could be classified into five genotypes (A, B, C, D, and E) using a genetic distance threshold of 0.02. Among these, genotypes B and C were predominantly prevalent worldwide, including in China, whereas genotype D showed distinct spatial clustering (mainly in China) and was believed to undergo relatively rapid transmission and evolution. We also confirmed the conserved nature of HPIV1 over the last six decades, with an overall evolutionary rate of 9.41 × 10-4 substitutions/site/year. Additionally, genotype-specific amino acid substitutions and potential N-glycosylation sites in HN were identified. These findings provide insights into the genetic characteristics of HPIV1.