Coronaviruses and Influenza Viruses: Evolution, Cross-Species Transmission, and Recombination

Dear Colleagues,

The COVID-19 pandemic made the global scientific community continuously monitor various coronaviruses at the genome level. The occurrence of mutations, the possibility of recombination between different coronaviruses strains and variants, and the possibilities of new host adaptation and species jump paved the way for the emergence of novel coronaviruses that affect humans and different species of animals and birds. Many research gaps hamper our understanding of the molecular biology of coronaviruses. The antigenic shift and drift of influenza viruses, as well as their ability to recombine, also substantially contributed to the emergence of new variants/strains and to their adaptation to new species. Thus, active research is needed to tackle several research objectives in the context of coronaviruses/influenza viruses, their hosts, and their interactions with the environment, including studies on (1) the molecular biology of coronaviruses/influenza viruses; (2) molecular evolution; (3) inter-species transmission; (4) virus/host interaction; the development of novel vaccines from some newly emerging strains/variants of coronaviruses infecting mammals and birds；(5) the development of novel diagnostic assays that keep up with the dynamic changes of coronaviruses at the genomic level, which hamper the success of certain recently developed diagnostic assays and vaccines. These strategies will help reduce the potential threats of an upcoming coronavirus pandemic.

Prof. Dr. Maged Gomaa Hemida
Guest Editor

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• coronaviruses
• influenza viruses
• highly pathogenic influenza viruses
• species jump
• avian coronaviruses
• porcine coronaviruses
• vaccines
• diagnostic assays
• one health
• virus/host interaction.