Intersegment Recombination During Influenza A Virus Replication Gives Rise to a Novel Class of Defective Viral Genomes.

ABSTRACT: Influenza A virus (IAV) is a highly diverse pathogen with genetic variability primarily driven by mutation and reassortment. Using next-generation sequencing (NGS), we characterised defective viral genomes (DVGs) generated during the serial passaging of influenza A/Puerto Rico/8/1934 (H1N1) virus in embryonated chicken eggs. Deletions were the most abundant DVG type, predominantly accumulating in the polymerase-encoding segments. Notably, we identified and validated a novel class of multisegment DVGs arising from intersegment recombination events, providing evidence that the IAV RNA polymerase can detach from one genomic template and resume synthesis on another. Multisegment recombination primarily involved segments 1-3 but also occurred between other segment pairings. In specific lineages

SUBMITTER: Anisi S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12197472 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature