Recoletos Multidisciplinary Research Journal

Articles

Vol. 13 No. 2Si (2025)

Conserved Internal PB2?PB1?PA?NP?M Genes and Divergent HA/NA in Bat Influenza A Viruses H9N2, H17N10, and H18N11

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32871/rmrj1302si.i2508
Submitted
December 6, 2025
Published
November 30, 2025
FULL PAPER

Keywords

  • Chiroptera
  • bat influenza A virus (BIV)
  • multiple sequence alignment (MSA)
  • bat-borne virus
  • H9N2, H17N10, and H18N11
  • zoonotic transmission
  • infectious diseases

Abstract

Background: Bats (Chiroptera) are well-known reservoirs of zoonotic infectious diseases, such as SARS-CoV-2, EBOV, and others, that have caused pandemics and pose challenges to modern society. Bats, being a global species, could pose a threat to human life, domestic animals, agricultural livestock, and wildlife due to environmental spillovers and cross-transmission.
Methods: Multiple sequence alignments (MSA) on the nucleotide and protein segment sequences of bat influenza A virus (BIV), including H9N2, H17N10, and H18N11, were performed. Phylogenetic and sequence identity analysis further supported the comparative analysis in the study.
Results: The internal gene cassette comprising the polymerase complex (PB2, PB1, PA), nucleoprotein (NP), and matrix protein (MP) demonstrates remarkable conservation across diverse viral lineages. However, the surface glycoproteins, neuraminidase (NA) and hemagglutinin (HA), exhibit high variability.
Conclusion: Conserved sequences suggest potential primer designs for detection and serve as targets for long-term vaccines and antivirals, while highly mutated sequences may serve as seasonal targets. Addressing bat-borne diseases is crucial for both human health, environmental sustainability, and animal health, as it helps mitigate the risk of transmission for infectious diseases. However, experimental studies are still needed to pave the way for the clinical use of a possible vaccine target against the bat influenza virus.

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