Detecting zoonotic Influenza A using QIAstat-Dx Respiratory SARS-CoV-2 panel for pandemic preparedness.

Recent reports from the World Health Organization regarding Influenza A cases of zoonotic origin in humans (H1v and H9N2) and publications describing emergence swine Influenza A cases in humans together with "G4" Eurasian avian-like H1N1 Influenza A virus have drawn global attention to Influenza A pandemic threat. Additionally, the current COVID-19 epidemic has stressed the importance of surveillance and preparedness to prevent potential outbreaks. One feature of the QIAstat-Dx Respiratory SARS-CoV-2 panel is the double target approach for Influenza A detection of seasonal strains affecting humans using a generic Influenza A assay plus the three specific human subtype assays. This work explores the potential use of this double target approach in the QIAstat-Dx Respiratory SARS-Co-V-2 Panel as a tool to detect zoonotic Influenza A strains. A set of recently recorded H9 and H1 spillover strains and the G4 EA Influenza A strains as example of recent zoonotic Flu A strains were subjected to detection prediction with QIAstat-Dx Respiratory SARS-CoV-2 Panel using commercial synthetic dsDNA sequences. In addition, a large set of available commercial human and non-human influenza A strains were also tested using QIAstat-Dx Respiratory SARS-CoV-2 Panel for a better understanding of detection and discrimination of Influenza A strains. Results show that QIAstat-Dx Respiratory SARS-CoV-2 Panel generic Influenza A assay detects all the recently recorded H9, H5 and H1 zoonotic spillover strains and all the G4 EA Influenza A strains. Additionally, these strains yielded negative results for the three-human seasonal IAV (H1, H3 and H1N1 pandemic) assays. Additional non-human strains corroborated those results of Flu A detection with no subtype discrimination, whereas human Influenza strains were positively discriminated. These results indicate that QIAstat-Dx Respiratory SARS-CoV-2 Panel could be a useful tool to diagnose zoonotic Influenza A strains and differentiate them from the seasonal strains commonly affecting humans.

Valorization of agro-industrial wastes by producing 2-phenylethanol via solid-state fermentation: Influence of substrate selection on the process.

2-phenylethanol (2-PE) is a value-added compound widely used in industry due to its rose-like odor and antibacterial properties that can be bioproduced using wastes as raw materials. This study presents the valorization of nine agro-industrial wastes as potential substrates for 2-PE production using an isolated 2-PE producer Pichia kudriavzevii, and the solid-state fermentation (SSF) technology as an alternative approach. The assessed substrates comprised wastes of varied traits such that each of them provided different characteristics to the fermentation. Thus, by using a principal component analysis (PCA), it was possible to identify the most significant characteristics associated with the substrates affecting the 2-PE production. Results show that L-phenylalanine biotransformation was more efficient than de novo synthesis for producing 2-PE. Besides, from the evaluated set, the maximum 2-PE production was achieved with red apple pomace, reaching 1.7 and 25.2 mg2PE per gram of used waste through de novo and L-phenylalanine biotransformation, respectively. In that scenario, volumetric productivity and precursor yield were 39.6 mg2PE L-1h-1 and 0.69 g2PE per gram of L-phenylalanine added, respectively. From the PCA, it was identified that the reducing sugars content of the substrate, the air-filled porosity of the bed and the L-phenylalanine availability were the most critical parameters (associated with the substrates) influencing the microbial activity and 2-PE production. These results suggest that the desirable traits a solid media needs for promoting 2-PE production via SSF could be reached by using a combination of wastes in a synergistic approach.