Efficient reverse genetics reveals genetic determinants of budding and fusogenic differences between Nipah and Hendra viruses and enables real-time monitoring of viral spread in small animal models of henipavirus infection.

ABSTRACT:

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Nipah virus (NiV) and Hendra virus (HeV) are closely related henipaviruses of the Paramyxovirinae. Spillover from their fruit bat reservoirs can cause severe disease in humans and livestock. Despite their high sequence similarity, NiV and HeV exhibit apparent differences in receptor and tissue tropism, envelope-mediated fusogenicity, replicative fitness, and other pathophysiologic manifestations. To investigate the molecular basis for these differences, we first established a highly efficient reverse genetics system that increased rescue titers by ≥3 log units, which offset the difficulty of generating multiple recombinants under constraining biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) conditions. We then replaced, singly and in combination, the matrix (M), fusion (F), and attachment glyc

SUBMITTER: Yun T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4300668 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature