Phylogenetic characterisation of circulating, clinical influenza isolates from Bali, Indonesia: preliminary report from the BaliMEI project.

BACKGROUND: Human influenza represents a major public health concern, especially in south-east Asia where the risk of emergence and spread of novel influenza viruses is particularly high. The BaliMEI study aims to conduct a five year active surveillance and characterisation of influenza viruses in Bali using an extensive network of participating healthcare facilities. METHODS: Samples were collected during routine diagnostic treatment in healthcare facilities. In addition to standard clinical and molecular methods for influenza typing, next generation sequencing and subsequent de novo genome assembly were performed to investigate the phylogeny of the collected patient samples. RESULTS: The samples collected are characteristic of the seasonally circulating influenza viruses with indications of phylogenetic links to other samples characterised in neighbouring countries during the same time period. CONCLUSIONS: There were some strong phylogenetic links with sequences from samples collected in geographically proximal regions, with some of the samples from the same time-period resulting to small clusters at the tree-end points. However this work, which is the first of its kind completely performed within Indonesia, supports the view that the circulating seasonal influenza in Bali reflects the strains circulating in geographically neighbouring areas as would be expected to occur within a busy regional transit centre.

Molecular characterization of the largest mycoviral-like double-stranded RNAs associated with Amasya cherry disease, a disease of presumed fungal aetiology.

The sequence of the four large (L) double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) associated with Amasya cherry disease (ACD), which has a presumed fungal aetiology, is reported. ACD L dsRNAs 1 (5121 bp) and 2 (5047 bp) potentially encode proteins of 1628 and 1620 aa, respectively, that are 37% identical and of unknown function. ACD L dsRNAs 3 (4458 bp) and 4 (4303 bp) potentially encode proteins that are 68% identical and contain the eight motifs conserved in RNA-dependent RNA polymerases (RdRp) of dsRNA mycoviruses, having highest similarity with those of members of the family Totiviridae. Both terminal regions share extensive conservation in all four RNAs, suggesting a functional relationship between them. As ACD L dsRNAs 1 and 2 do not encode RdRps, both are probably replicated by those from either ACD L dsRNA 3 or 4. Partial characterization of the equivalent L dsRNAs 3 and 4 associated with cherry chlorotic rusty spot revealed essentially identical sequences.