J Vet Sci.  2009 Dec;10(4):349-351. 10.4142/jvs.2009.10.4.349.

A Serine12Stop mutation in PB1-F2 of the 2009 pandemic (H1N1) influenza A: a possible reason for its enhanced transmission and pathogenicity to humans

• Ramakrishnan MA
• Gramer MR
• Goyal SM
• Sreevatsan S

• KMID: 1726909
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4142/jvs.2009.10.4.349

Abstract

As the scientific community scrambles to define the ancestry and lineages of the eight segments of new pandemic H1N1 strain, we looked for unique genetic events in this virus's genome to explain the newly found enhanced virulence and transmissibility among humans. Genome annotations of this virus identified a stop mutation replacing serine at codon 12 (S12Stop) of the PB1-F2 protein, a virulence factor in influenza A viruses. Here, we discuss the significance of this finding and how it may contribute to host specialization, explaining the virtual absence of the H1N1 influenza A virus strain in pig populations. This finding is expected to lead to a better understanding of the transmission and pathogenesis of the 2009 pandemic strain.

Keyword

pandemic influenza A; PB1-F2 protein; S12Stop; virulence marker

MeSH Terms

Amino Acid Sequence
Gene Expression Regulation, Viral/physiology
Host-Pathogen Interactions
Humans
Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype/*genetics/*pathogenicity
Influenza, Human/*virology
Molecular Sequence Data
Mutation
Viral Proteins/chemistry/*genetics/metabolism
Virulence

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 The amino acid sequence alignment of the PB1-F2 segment of representative avian, human, and swine influenza isolates. Alignments were generated using Clustal W. All 2009 pandemic strains of influenza A carry the S12Stop mutation (yellow) while 11 recent swine isolates (green) have full length or near full length PB1-F2 segment. One pig isolate had a 57 aa PB1-F2 (purple). Stop codon is shown as an asterisk (*).

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