{
  "id": 13002577,
  "title": "Mutational fitness landscapes of diverse human influenza H1N1 neuraminidases",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/mutational-fitness-landscapes-of-diverse-human-influenza-h1n1",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-08T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "bioRxiv",
    "slug": "biorxiv",
    "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.07.757144v1?rss=1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Neuraminidase (NA) has become a promising target for influenza vaccines, but its ability to rapidly evolve through antigenic drift has hindered our understanding of its evolutionary constraints. To address this knowledge gap, researchers conducted a systematic analysis of the replication fitness effects of 6,000 mutations in three antigenically diverse H1N1 NAs using deep mutational scanning. The study revealed moderate correlations among the H1N1 NA fitness landscapes, indicating that certain mutations have strain-dependent replication fitness effects. Furthermore, a comparison between N1 and N2 NAs showed similar epistatic effects concentrated in the C-terminal interprotomer interface. The researchers also found that NA mutational fitness strongly correlated between in vivo and in vitro experiments. To gain a deeper understanding of the factors influencing NA mutational fitness, the team characterized 40 individually constructed NA mutants. The analysis demonstrated that NA mutational fitness is primarily determined by surface protein expression rather than total protein expression or endoplasmic reticulum stress induction. This comprehensive dataset generated in the study provides crucial insights into the evolutionary constraints of NA and offers valuable information for the development of effective influenza vaccines.",
  "summary": "While neuraminidase (NA) is emerging as a promising influenza vaccine target, it evolves rapidly and undergoes antigenic drift. However, our understanding of its evolutionary constraints remains limited. Here, we systematically quantified the replication fitness effects of >6,000 mutations for each of three antigenically diverse H1N1 NAs using deep mutational scanning. Moderate correlations among…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}