Long-term adaptation following influenza A virus host shifts results in increased within-host viral fitness due to higher replication rates, broader dissemination within the respiratory epithelium and reduced tissue damage.

ABSTRACT: The mechanisms and consequences of genome evolution on viral fitness following host shifts are poorly understood. In addition, viral fitness -the ability of an organism to reproduce and survive- is multifactorial and thus difficult to quantify. Influenza A viruses (IAVs) circulate broadly among wild birds and have jumped into and become endemic in multiple mammalian hosts, including humans, pigs, dogs, seals, and horses. H3N8 equine influenza virus (EIV) is an endemic virus of horses that originated in birds and has been circulating uninterruptedly in equine populations since the early 1960s. Here, we used EIV to quantify changes in infection phenotype associated to viral fitness due to genome-wide changes acquired during long-term adaptation. We performed experimental infections of two ma

SUBMITTER: Amat JAR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8735595 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature