Giuseppe
Emeritus
The Evolutionary Genetics and Emergence of Avian Influenza Viruses in Wild Birds
Vivien G. Dugan1, Rubing Chen2, David J. Spiro3, Naomi Sengamalay3, Jennifer Zaborsky3, Elodie Ghedin4, Jacqueline Nolting5, David E. Swayne6, Jonathan A. Runstadler7, George M. Happ7, Dennis A. Senne8, Ruixue Wang1, Richard D. Slemons5, Edward C. Holmes2,9, Jeffery K. Taubenberger1*
1 Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America - 2 Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States of America - 3 The J. Craig Venter Institute, Rockville, Maryland, United States of America - 4 Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America - 5 Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America - 6 Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Athens, Georgia, United States of America- 7 Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, United States of America- 8 National Veterinary Services Laboratories, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, US Department of Agriculture, Ames, Iowa, United States of America- 9 Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
Abstract
We surveyed the genetic diversity among avian influenza virus (AIV) in wild birds, comprising 167 complete viral genomes from 14 bird species sampled in four locations across the United States.
These isolates represented 29 type A influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) subtype combinations, with up to 26% of isolates showing evidence of mixed subtype infection.
Through a phylogenetic analysis of the largest data set of AIV genomes compiled to date, we were able to document a remarkably high rate of genome reassortment, with no clear pattern of gene segment association and occasional inter-hemisphere gene segment migration and reassortment.
From this, we propose that AIV in wild birds forms transient ?genome constellations,? continually reshuffled by reassortment, in contrast to the spread of a limited number of stable genome constellations that characterizes the evolution of mammalian-adapted influenza A viruses.
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http://www.plospathogens.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.ppat.1000076
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Vivien G. Dugan1, Rubing Chen2, David J. Spiro3, Naomi Sengamalay3, Jennifer Zaborsky3, Elodie Ghedin4, Jacqueline Nolting5, David E. Swayne6, Jonathan A. Runstadler7, George M. Happ7, Dennis A. Senne8, Ruixue Wang1, Richard D. Slemons5, Edward C. Holmes2,9, Jeffery K. Taubenberger1*
1 Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America - 2 Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States of America - 3 The J. Craig Venter Institute, Rockville, Maryland, United States of America - 4 Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America - 5 Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America - 6 Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Athens, Georgia, United States of America- 7 Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, United States of America- 8 National Veterinary Services Laboratories, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, US Department of Agriculture, Ames, Iowa, United States of America- 9 Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
Abstract
We surveyed the genetic diversity among avian influenza virus (AIV) in wild birds, comprising 167 complete viral genomes from 14 bird species sampled in four locations across the United States.
These isolates represented 29 type A influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) subtype combinations, with up to 26% of isolates showing evidence of mixed subtype infection.
Through a phylogenetic analysis of the largest data set of AIV genomes compiled to date, we were able to document a remarkably high rate of genome reassortment, with no clear pattern of gene segment association and occasional inter-hemisphere gene segment migration and reassortment.
From this, we propose that AIV in wild birds forms transient ?genome constellations,? continually reshuffled by reassortment, in contrast to the spread of a limited number of stable genome constellations that characterizes the evolution of mammalian-adapted influenza A viruses.
-
http://www.plospathogens.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.ppat.1000076
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