title: Pathogenesis and Phylogenetic Analyses of Two Avian Influenza H7N1 Viruses Isolated from Wild Birds.
abstract: The emergence of human infections with a novel H7N9 influenza strain has raised global concerns about a potential human pandemic. To further understand the character of other influenza viruses of the H7 subtype, we selected two H7N1 avian influenza viruses (AIVs) isolated from wild birds during routine surveillance in China: A/Baer's Pochard/Hunan/414/2010 (BP/HuN/414/10) (H7N1) and A/Common Pochard/Xianghai/420/2010 (CP/XH/420/10) (H7N1). To better understand the molecular characteristics of these two isolated H7N1 viruses, we sequenced and phylogenetically analyzed their entire genomes. The results showed that the two H7N1 strains belonged to a Eurasian branch, originating from a common ancestor. Phylogenetic analysis of their hemagglutinin (HA) genes showed that BP/HuN/414/10 and CP/XH/420/10 have a more distant genetic relationship with A/Shanghai/13/2013 (H7N9), with similarities of 91.6 and 91.4%, respectively. To assess the replication and pathogenicity of these viruses in different hosts, they were inoculated in chickens, ducks and mice. Although, both CP/XH/420/10 and BP/HuN/414/10 can infect chickens, ducks and mice, they exhibited different replication capacities in these animals. The results of this study demonstrated that two low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) H7N1 viruses of the Eurasian branch could infect mammals and may even have the potential to infect humans. Therefore, it is important to monitor H7 viruses in both domestic and wild birds.
authors.affiliation: College of Wildlife Resources, Northeast Forestry University Harbin, China.
authors.forename: Hongmei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences Harbin, China.
authors.forename: Deli
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Wildlife Resources, Northeast Forestry UniversityHarbin, China; Research Institute of Forestry Ecology, Environment and ProtectionBeijing, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences Harbin, China.
authors.forename: Yanfang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: College of Wildlife Resources, Northeast Forestry UniversityHarbin, China; Hubei Province Wildlife Epidemic Disease CenterWuhan, China.
authors.forename: Guang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: College of Wildlife Resources, Northeast Forestry University Harbin, China.
authors.forename: Xiaolin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Wildlife Resources, Northeast Forestry University Harbin, China.
authors.forename: Jiajie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Wildlife Resources, Northeast Forestry University Harbin, China.
authors.forename: Xiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Wildlife Resources, Northeast Forestry University Harbin, China.
authors.forename: Hongliang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chai
authors.affiliation: Changchun Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Changchun, China.
authors.forename: Yuwei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences Harbin, China.
authors.forename: Yanbing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Wildlife Resources, Northeast Forestry University Harbin, China.
authors.forename: Yuping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hua
keywords: Avian influenza virus; H7N1; H7N9; pathogenic analyses; phylogenetic analysis