News
PloS Pathogens – Open Access Citation: Yamada S, Hatta M, Staker BL, Watanabe S, Imai M, et al. (2010) Biological and Structural Characterization of a Host-Adapting Amino Acid in Influenza Virus. PLoS Pathog 6(8): e1001034. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1001034 Biological and Structural Characterization of a Host-Adapting Amino Acid in Influenza Virus Author Summary Influenza viruses that originate from avian species likely have to acquire adapting amino acid changes to replicate efficiently in mammals. Two amino acid changes in the polymerase PB2 protein—a glutamic acid to lysine change at position 627 or an aspartic acid to asparagine change at position 701—are known to allow influenza viruses of avian origin to replicate efficiently in mammals. Interestingly, the pandemic H1N1 viruses (which possess an avian-like PB2 gene) do not encode the ‘human-type’ amino acids PB2-627K and PB2-701N. Here, we report that a basic amino acid at position 591 of PB2 can compensate for the lack of PB2-627K and allows efficient replication of highly pathogenic H5N1 and pandemic H1N1 viruses in mammalian species. We also present the X-ray crystal structure of the C-terminal portion of a pandemic H1N1 PB2 protein. The basic amino acid at position 591 fills a distinctive cleft found in the PB2 proteins of H5N1 viruses. We also speculate on the biological significance of the altered surface of the H1N1 PB2 protein. READ MORE: http://www.plospathogens.org/article/infodoi10.1371journal.ppat.1001034
Quick Links
-
Please see MONOGRAPH in Veterinaria Italiana
“One Health – One Medicine”: linking human, animal and environmental health
Read More -
History of the One Health Initiative team and website (April 2006 through September 2015) and the One Health Initiative website since October 1, 2008 … revised to June 2020 and again to date February 2021
Read More -
Vaccines for zoonoses: a One Health paradigm
SciTech Europa Quarterly (March 2018) – Issue 26
Read More -
Pan European Networks SciTech Europa Quarterly
SciTech Europa Vaccines for zoonoses: a one Health paradigm – Pages 227-229 (Read PDF) “One of the One Health Initiative team’s co-founders and leaders is an internationally-recognized eminent physician…
Read More Read PDF