“Genetic tuning” of avian influenza virus host adaptation from birds to humans

Abstract

Abstract Avian influenza viruses can adapt to infect humans by accumulating mutations or reassortments, potentially leading to a pandemic. However, the adaptation dynamics of zoonotic avian influenza viruses in their transition from animal hosts to human hosts remains largely unknown. In a recent PNAS report, Liu et al. have presented deep sequencing data showing host adaptation by “genetic tuning” of a zoonotic H7N9 avian influenza virus to cross the species barrier to infect humans. This provides the first in-depth data on avian influenza virus adaptation at the bird-human interface. As a one-health approach, the deep sequencing approach as implemented by Liu et al. is applicable to the study of emerging zoonotic viruses and provides valuable data on “genetic tuning” in virus-host adaptation. This experimental design should be useful for studying other zoonotic viruses, including SARS-CoV-2 and the novel swine influenza virus, and helpful for mitigating future pandemic public health risks.