FluConvert and IniFlu

FluConvert and IniFlu analyze influenza virus sequence data from public-domain databases to determine consensus sequences and identify group-specific polygenic signatures, including multiple basic amino acids at the hemagglutinin (HA) cleavage site and evidence-based amino acid substitutions linked to virulence and human infection potential, to support pandemic-risk assessment.

Key Features:

• Data Processing and Integration: Automatic processing, organization, and synthesis of influenza sequence data according to standard viral nomenclature from public-domain databases.
• Consensus Sequence Determination: Computation of group-related consensus sequences for comparative and evolutionary analyses.
• Polygenic Signature Identification: Identification of group-specific polygenic signatures, including multiple basic amino acids at the HA cleavage site and other amino acid substitutions associated with virulence and zoonotic potential.
• Integration with Clinical and Epidemiological Data: Incorporation of clinical and epidemiological data with genetic analyses to link molecular signatures to virological and public health outcomes.

Scientific Applications:

• Pandemic Surveillance and Risk Assessment: Monitoring and assessment of influenza virus subtypes that pose pandemic threats by detecting molecular signatures of concern.
• Molecular Marker Discovery for Virulence and Zoonotic Potential: Detection of amino acid substitutions and HA cleavage-site motifs indicative of increased virulence or human infection risk.
• Retrospective Outbreak Analysis (H5N2 2009–2016): Application to highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N2 (2009–2016) to identify specific amino acid substitutions associated with increased virulence and human infection risk.

Methodology:

Automatic processing and rearrangement of sequence data, determination of consensus sequences, and identification of polygenic signatures.