Polymerase mutations underlie early adaptation of H5N1 influenza virus to dairy cattle and other mammals

Vidhi Dholakia, Jessica L. Quantrill, Samuel A. S. Richardson, Nunticha Pankaew, Maryn D. Brown, Jiayun Yang, Fernando Capelastegui, Tereza Masonou, Katie-Marie Case, Jila Ajeian, Maximillian N. J. Woodall, Callum Magill, Graham Freimanis, Amy McCarron, Ecco Staller, Carol M. Sheppard, Ian H. Brown, Pablo R. Murcia, Claire M. Smith, Munir Iqbal, Paul Digard, Wendy S. Barclay, Rute M. Pinto, Thomas P. Peacock & Daniel H. Goldhill
Published in Nature Communications in 2026