Since its identification in April 2009 an A(H1N1) virus containing a unique combination of gene segments from both North American and Eurasian swine lineages has continued to circulate in humans. The 2009 A(H1N1) virus is distantly related to its nearest relatives, indicating that its gene segments have been circulating undetected for an extended period. Low genetic diversity among the viruses suggests the introduction into humans was a single event or multiple events of similar viruses. Molecular markers predicted for adaptation to humans are not currently present in 2009 A(H1N1) viruses, suggesting previously unrecognized molecular determinants could be responsible for the transmission among humans. Antigenically the viruses are homogeneous and similar to North American swine A(H1N1) viruses but distinct from seasonal human A(H1N1).

Avian flu can acquire the capacity for airborne transmission between mammals without recombination in an intermediate host.

The COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease-2019) pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, is a significant threat to public health and the global economy. SARS-CoV-2 is closely related to the more lethal but less transmissible coronaviruses SARS-CoV-1 and MERS-CoV. Here, we have carried out comparative viral-human protein-protein interaction and viral protein localization analysis for all three viruses. Subsequent functional genetic screening identified host factors that functionally impinge on coronavirus proliferation, including Tom70, a mitochondrial chaperone protein that interacts with both SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 Orf9b, an interaction we structurally characterized using cryo-EM. Combining genetically-validated host factors with both COVID-19 patient genetic data and medical billing records identified important molecular mechanisms and potential drug treatments that merit further molecular and clinical study.

The molecular basis of antigenic drift was determined for the hemagglutinin (HA) of human influenza A/H3N2 virus. From 1968 to 2003, antigenic change was caused mainly by single amino acid substitutions, which occurred at only seven positions in HA immediately adjacent to the receptor binding site. Most of these substitutions were involved in antigenic change more than once. Equivalent positions were responsible for the recent antigenic changes of influenza B and A/H1N1 viruses. Substitution of a single amino acid at one of these positions substantially changed the virus-specific antibody response in infected ferrets. These findings have potentially far-reaching consequences for understanding the evolutionary mechanisms that govern influenza viruses.

Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) are a large family of structurally related proteins with a wide range of physiological and pathological activities. Signal transduction requires association of FGF with its receptor tyrosine kinase (FGFR) and heparan sulphate proteoglycan in a specific complex on the cell surface. Direct involvement of the heparan sulphate glycosaminoglycan polysaccharide in the molecular association between FGF and its receptor is essential for biological activity. Although crystal structures of binary complexes of FGF-heparin and FGF-FGFR have been described, the molecular architecture of the FGF signalling complex has not been elucidated. Here we report the crystal structure of the FGFR2 ectodomain in a dimeric form that is induced by simultaneous binding to FGF1 and a heparin decasaccharide. The complex is assembled around a central heparin molecule linking two FGF1 ligands into a dimer that bridges between two receptor chains. The asymmetric heparin binding involves contacts with both FGF1 molecules but only one receptor chain. The structure of the FGF1-FGFR2-heparin ternary complex provides a structural basis for the essential role of heparan sulphate in FGF signalling.