Abstract
No direct experimental causal evidence confirms that the Zika virus is the sole etiological agent responsible for the development of brain malformations in human fetuses during pregnancy. We used a discovery-driven approach to analyze protein extracts of three Zika positive brains. Shotgun mass spectrometry (MS) proteomics did not identify any Zika protein in all samples. However, MS detected the presence of peptide(s) from the polyprotein of a Bovine-like viral diarrhea virus (BVDV-like) in Zika-positive brains. These results indicate that Zika virus may not be, per se, the only etiological agent responsible for microcephaly and suggests that discovery-driven approaches play an essential role in the screening of fluids or tissues for virus or other etiological agents.
