We previously reported that an H5N1 virus carrying the Venus reporter gene, which was inserted into the NS gene segment from A/Puerto Rico/8/1934 (H1N1) virus (Venus-H5N1 virus), became more lethal to mice and the reporter gene was more stably maintained after mouse adaptation compared with the wild-type Venus-H5N1 (WT-Venus-H5N1) virus. However, the basis for this difference in virulence and Venus stability was unclear. Here, we investigated the molecular determinants behind this virulence and reporter stability by comparing WT-Venus-H5N1 virus with a mouse-adapted Venus-H5N1 (MA-Venus-H5N1) virus. To determine the genetic basis for these differences, we used reverse genetics to generate a series of reassortants of these two viruses. We found that reassortants with PB2 from MA-Venus-H5N1 (MA-PB2), MA-PA, or MA-NS expressed Venus more stably than did WT-Venus-H5N1 virus. We also found that a single mutation in PB2 (V25A) or in PA (R443K) increased the virulence of WT-Venus-H5N1 virus in mice, and that the presence of both of these mutations substantially enhanced the pathogenicity of the virus. Our results suggest roles for PB2 and PA in the stable maintenance of a foreign protein as an NS1 fusion protein in influenza A virus.