A major determinant of influenza host range is hemagglutinin (HA). Loss of a glycosylation in the HA head may be critical for ferret-transmission of H5-possessing viruses. Neumann et al. found that all human H5N1 infections in Egypt over a 2-year period were caused by viruses lacking the glycosylation site. They speculate that these viruses show a greater pandemic risk than H5N1 viruses elsewhere.
Li and Kowal provide an introduction about yeast prions and their environmental regulation. This review includes a discussion about their protein-based infectivity, interaction with their cellular machinery as well as their potentially diverse roles in evolution.
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Idiopathic chronic diarrhea (ICD) is a leading cause of morbidity amongst captive rhesus monkeys and also shares features with ulcerative colitis in humans. Broadhurst et al. provide a potential mechanism by which parasitic worms may improve symptoms of intestinal inflammation by reducing the immune response against intestinal bacteria.
Melanization is an important mechanism for both immune response and wound healing in arthropods, yet its role in anti-fungal defense is poorly understood. Yassine et al. show that the mosquito melanization response retards significantly Beauveria bassina growth and dissemination.
Rice dwarf virus (RDV) is transmitted by a leafhopper vector in a persistent-propagative manner, though the mechanism is not entirely clear. Chen et al. show that a persistent-propagative virus exploits virus-containing tubules composed of a nonstructural viral protein to traffic along actin-based cellular protrusions, thus facilitating the spread of RDV.
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