Antiviral Drug-Resistant Influenza B Viruses Carrying H134N Substitution in Neuraminidase, Laos, February 2016.

In February 2016, three influenza B/Victoria/2/87 lineage viruses exhibiting 4- to 158-fold reduced inhibition by neuraminidase inhibitors were detected in Laos. These viruses had an H134N substitution in the neuraminidase and replicated efficiently in vitro and in ferrets. Current antiviral drugs may be ineffective in controlling infections caused by viruses harboring this mutation.

Low temperature stress in maize (Zea mays L.) induces genes involved in photosynthesis and signal transduction as studied by suppression subtractive hybridization.

Unfavourable environmental conditions such as cold induce the transcription of a range of genes in plants in order to acclimate to these growth conditions. To better understand the cold acclimation of maize (Zea mays L.) it is important to identify components of the cold stress response. For this purpose, cold-induced genes were analysed using the PCR-select cDNA subtraction method. We identified several novel genes isolated from maize seedling exposed for 48h to 6 degrees C. Of 18 Zea mays cold-induced genes (ZmCOI genes) characterized, the majority share similarities with proteins with known function in signal transduction and photosynthesis regulation. RT-PCR was conducted for a selected group of genes, namely ZmCOI6.1, ZmACA1, ZmDREB2A and ZmERF3, confirming the induction by low temperature. In addition, it was found that their expression was strongly induced by other abiotic stresses such as drought and high salt concentration, by stress signalling molecules such as jasmonic acid, salicylic acid and abscisic acid, and by membrane rigidification. These results suggest that this group of genes is involved in a general response to abiotic stresses.