Molecular cloning of a monkeypox virus clade IIb genome and construction of an attenuated mutant for basic and translational research.
Emerging microbes & infections·
- DOI
- 10.1080/22221751.2026.2717859
- PMID
- 42647848
- PMCID
- —
- OpenAlex
- W7204279235
- Study type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- Publisher unavailable
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The abstract frames the platform as a potential way to facilitate MPXV basic and applied research by enabling work with an attenuated virus. Its relevance is research infrastructure for antibody and antiviral testing, rather than evidence of population-level disease effects.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The article describes construction and initial characterization of a full-length MPXV clade IIb bacterial artificial chromosome clone, including development of a thymidine kinase-deficient attenuated mutant for research use.
Study design
Laboratory experimental study using yeast-based cloning and BAC recombineering. Clone integrity and viral replication were assessed, and attenuation was evaluated in a CAST/EiJ mouse intradermal infection model.
Population and setting
The work involved MPXV clade IIb virus, cell culture, CAST/EiJ mice, and human serum samples used for neutralizing-antibody detection.
Main findings
The authors generated a complete MPXV clade IIb BAC clone and verified its genome sequence and recovery of replication-competent virus. Deleting OPG101, which encodes thymidine kinase, produced a mutant with similar cell-culture titers to wild-type virus but reduced virulence in the stated mouse model. The mutant was also demonstrated for neutralizing-antibody detection in human serum and antiviral drug testing.
Public-health relevance
The abstract frames the platform as a potential way to facilitate MPXV basic and applied research by enabling work with an attenuated virus. Its relevance is research infrastructure for antibody and antiviral testing, rather than evidence of population-level disease effects.
Important limitations
The supplied abstract reports laboratory and mouse-model results, with no human clinical or field-effectiveness outcomes described. This summary relies only on the supplied single-article abstract and metadata; the original paper is required for decision-grade interpretation.
GIDS interpretation
This article is discoverable in a Monkeypox-classified evidence context and concerns an MPXV research platform. It should be interpreted as preclinical laboratory evidence and does not establish or confirm any live surveillance signal.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 8 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.