Issue 2
Journal for Veterinary Medicine, Biotechnology and Biosafety
Volume
3, Issue 2, June 2017, Page 45
ISSN 2411-3174 (print version) ISSN 2411-0388
(online version)
Investigation of adaptation
of Avian influenza viruses to mammalian species
Turan N. 1
, Ma W. 2 , Ma
J. 2 , Liu Q. 2 , Bawa B. 2 , Richt J.
A. 2
1 Istanbul University, Avcilar,
Istanbul, Turkey, e-mail: nturan@istanbul.edu.tr
2 Kansas State University, Manhattan,
Kansas, USA
Download
PDF (print version)
Citation for print version: Turan, N., Ma, W.,
Ma, J., Liu, Q., Bawa, B. and Richt,
J. A. (2017) ‘Investigation of adaptation of Avian influenza viruses to
mammalian species’, Journal
for Veterinary Medicine, Biotechnology and Biosafety, 3(2),
p. 45.
Download
PDF (online version)
Citation for online version: Turan, N., Ma, W.,
Ma, J., Liu, Q., Bawa, B. and Richt,
J. A. (2017) ‘Investigation of adaptation of Avian
influenza viruses to mammalian species’, Journal for Veterinary Medicine, Biotechnology and Biosafety.
[Online] 3(2), p. 45. Available at: http://jvmbbs.kharkov.ua/archive/2017/volume3/issue2/oJVMBBS_2017032_045.pdf
Summary. Influenza
A viruses are negative-sense, single stranded and
segmented RNA viruses. They are zoonotic pathogens that continuously circulate
in several animal hosts and undergo genetic drift and shift. These are
responsible for causing human epidemics and sometimes pandemics. Avian
influenza H5N1, H7N7, H7N9, and H9N2 viruses have been hypothesized to cause the next pandemic, although
there is no clear evidence that they have been successfully maintained in
humans. To date, how avian influenza viruses adapt to mammalian species is still not completely understood. We try to answer the
following questions: • How fast do avian influenza viruses adapt to
mammalian species? • How do avian influenza viruses cross the species
barrier to adapt to mammalian species? To answer these questions, we performed
three serial passages of a quail H9N2 virus in pigs
and sequenced the broncho-alveolar lavage fluid (BALF) from pigs in all three experimental groups using universal
and internal primers. We concluded from virus titration and sequencing results,
that the adaptation of an avian H9N2 virus to pigs
seems to work. We saw a gradual increase of virus titers in the lung of animals
after serial passages. Nucleotide mutations have been found
in seven genes analyzed, many of them also leading to amino acid substitutions.
The third passage H9N2 isolate induced obvious lesions
in pig lungs. This study was funded by TÜBİTAK and Kansas State University.
Keywords: Avian influenza virus, birds, mammals, adaptation, H5N1, H7N7, H7N9, H9N2
