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SPOTLIGHT

Articles of Significant Interest Selected from This Issue by the Editors

Influenza viruses are not thought to evolve through homologous recombination. To address some recent claims to the contrary, Boni et al. (p. 4807-4811) assembled a data set of more than 13,000 human influenza virus sequences representing both circulating human subtypes and all eight RNA segments that comprise the influenza virus genome. Using a powerful nonparametric method conducive to recombinant searches in large data sets, the authors tested every sequence for recombination signals. While two sequences had strong mosaic signals, these were most likely laboratory-generated artifacts. Thus, the evolution of influenza virus RNA segments is predominantly clonal.

Influenza A Genome Is under Selection for Nucleotide Composition

The nucleotide composition of human influenza A virus genes changes over time for reasons that are not well understood. Kryazhimskiy et al. (p. 4938-4945) provide evidence that natural selection for nucleotide composition, acting at both synonymous and nonsynonymous sites, is at least partly responsible for these changes. This work sheds new light on selective pressures on human influenza A virus and suggests caution when assuming that synonymous nucleotide changes in viral genes are not under natural selection.

Human Papillomavirus DNA Looping Mediated by E2 N-Terminal Dimerization

Papillomavirus E2 proteins primarily regulate viral gene expression and replication by formation of DNA-bound dimers. A second dimerization interface revealed in the crystal structure of the human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16 E2 transactivation domain (TAD) was predicted to be responsible for E2-mediated DNA loop formation. Hernandez-Ramon et al. (p. 4853-4861) have now visualized these loops by atomic force microscopy and observe that loop formation is abolished in proteins containing single amino acid substitutions that prevent TAD self-interaction. This work provides additional insight into mechanisms by which HPV E2 functions to regulate viral transcription and replication.

A Protein Interaction Network in Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Virions

Herpesvirus virions are highly organized structures built though specific protein-protein interactions. However, a comprehensive picture of the herpesvirus virion protein interaction network is lacking. Rozen et al. (p. 4742-4750) systematically analyzed protein interactions among virion proteins of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV). Thirty-seven binary interactions were identified, thereby revealing a virion-wide protein interaction network in KSHV. This network establishes a foundation to further explore functions of different virion proteins and serves as a roadmap to gain insights into KSHV virion assembly and egress.

Novel Coronavirus Identified in a Beluga Whale by Panviral Microarray

Mihindukulasuriya et al. (p. 5084-5088) investigated the sudden death of a beluga whale in captivity using a panviral microarray approach to screen for the presence of viruses. The panviral microarray revealed sequences that hybridized to a limited number of probes from the Coronaviridae family. Sequencing of the complete genome yielded a highly divergent coronavirus most closely related phylogenetically to group 3 coronaviruses. This study underscores our limited understanding of viral diversity in animals.

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