Clade 2.3.4.4b H5N8 Subtype Avian Influenza Viruses Were Identified from the Common Crane Wintering in Yunnan Province, China

作者：Qinhong Yang, Xiaoyan Xue, Zhenxing Zhang, Ming Ju Wu, Jia Ji, Wei Wang, Yin Hongbin, Suhua Li, Hongyang Dai, Bofang Duan, Qiang Liu, Jianling Song · 发表于：Viruses · 年份：2022 · DOI：10.3390/v15010038 · 被引用次数：10 · 研究领域：Influenza Virus Research Studies、Respiratory viral infections research、Viral Infections and Vectors

The seasonal migration of wild aquatic birds plays a critical role in the maintenance, transmission, and incursion of the avian influenza virus (AIV). AIV surveillance was performed during 2020-2021 in two national nature reserves with abundant wild bird resources in Yunnan, China. Four H5N8 AIVs isolates from the common crane were identified by next-generation sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that all eight gene segments of these H5N8 AIVs belonged to clade 2.3.4.4b high-pathogenic AIV (HPAIV) and shared high nucleotide sequence similarity with the strains isolated in Hubei, China, and Siberia, Russia, in 2020-2021. The H5N8 HPAIVs from common cranes were characterized by both human and avian dual-receptor specificity in the hemagglutinin (HA) protein. Moreover, possessing the substitutions contributes to overcoming transmission barriers of mammalian hosts in polymerase basic 2 (PB2), polymerase basic protein 1 (PB1), and polymerase acid (PA), and exhibiting the long stalk in the neck region of the neuraminidase (NA) protein contributes to adaptation in wild birds. Monitoring AIVs in migratory birds, at stopover sites and in their primary habitats, i.e., breeding or wintering grounds, could provide insight into potential zoonosis caused by AIVs.