Homologous recombination evidence in human and swine influenza A viruses

Dynamic gene mutation and the reassortment of genes have been considered as the key factors responsible for influenza A virus virulence and host tropism change. This study reports several significant evidence demonstrating that homologous recombination also takes place between influenza A viruses in human and swine lineages. Moreover, in a mosaic descended from swine H1N1 subtype and human H2N2, we found that its minor putative parent might be a derivative from the human cold-adapted vaccine lineage, which suggests that live vaccine is capable of playing a role in genetic change of influenza A virus via recombination with circulating viruses. These results would be important for knowing the molecular mechanism of mammal influenza A virus heredity and evolution.