Duh D, Blazic B. Single mutation in the matrix gene of seasonal influenza A viruses critically affects the performance of diagnostic molecular assay. J Virol Methods 2017 Oct 6
Reduced intensity of the fluorescence signal in the amplification curve was observed when using a WHO recommended real time RT-PCR for influenza virus detection. A single mutation, G189T, in the conserved region of influenza virus matrix gene was detected by Sanger sequencing. The mutation is located in the probe binding region, hence we speculated it could be the reason for the atypical shape of amplification curve. The mutation was first noted in Slovenia in 2011 and 2013 for seasonal influenza A virus types A(H1N1)pdm09 and A(H3N2), respectively. In the following years, 2014 and 2015, the majority of influenza A(H3N2) viruses alone carried the mutation. The amplification of matrix gene for these influenza A(H3N2) viruses continuously resulted in the atypically shaped amplification curves. The performance of the particular assay was critically affected; therefore, the assay was no longer usable as diagnostic tool for influenza virus detection. Mutations in the conserved region of influenza virus genome are more common than expected and this would need to be considered when targeting matrix gene.
See Also:
Latest articles in those days:
- High-throughput pseudovirus neutralisation maps the antigenic landscape of influenza A/H1N1 viruses 18 hours ago
- Timely vaccine strain selection and genomic surveillance improve evolutionary forecast accuracy of seasonal influenza A/H3N2 18 hours ago
- Evaluation of a Novel Data Source for National Influenza Surveillance: Influenza Hospitalization Data in the National Healthcare Safety Network, United States, September 2021-April 2024 18 hours ago
- Scenarios for pre-pandemic zoonotic influenza preparedness and response 18 hours ago
- Stability of Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Virus in Milk from Infected Cows and Virus-Spiked Milk 2 days ago
[Go Top] [Close Window]


