Brian T. Foley

Bio: Brian T. Foley is an academic researcher from Los Alamos National Laboratory. The author has contributed to research in topics: Population & Clostridium botulinum. The author has an hindex of 44, co-authored 128 publications receiving 10841 citations. Previous affiliations of Brian T. Foley include University of Pennsylvania & Ulster University.

HIV-1 Nomenclature Proposal

Abstract: A clear and consistent genetic classification of human immunodeficiency virus-type 1 (HIV-1) strains continues to be of great utility in epidemiological tracking of the AIDS pandemic and in vaccine design. It also provides a foundation for detecting any biological differences that may have evolved

Diversity considerations in HIV-1 vaccine selection.

Abstract: Globally, human immunodeficiency virus–type 1 (HIV-1) is extraordinarily variable, and this diversity poses a major obstacle to AIDS vaccine development. Currently, candidate vaccines are derived from isolates, with the hope that they will be sufficiently cross-reactive to protect against circulating viruses. This may be overly optimistic, however, given that HIV-1 envelope proteins can differ in more than 30% of their amino acids. To contend with the diversity, country-specific vaccines are being considered, but evolutionary relationships may be more useful than regional considerations. Consensus or ancestor sequences could be used in vaccine design to minimize the genetic differences between vaccine strains and contemporary isolates, effectively reducing the extent of diversity by half.

HIV sequence compendium 2002

Abstract: This compendium is an annual printed summary of the data contained in the HIV sequence database. In these compendia we try to present a judicious selection of the data in such a way that it is of maximum utility to HIV researchers. Traditionally, we present the sequence data themselves in the form of alignments: Section II, an alignment of a selection of HIV-1/SIVcpz full-length genomes (a lot of LAI-like sequences, for example, have been omitted because they are so similar that they bias the alignment); Section III, a combined HIV-1/HIV-2/SIV whole genome alignment; Sections IV–VI, amino acid alignments for HIV-1/SIV-cpz, HIV-2/SIV, and SIVagm. The HIV-2/SIV and SIVagm amino acid alignments are separate because the genetic distances between these groups are so great that presenting them in one alignment would make it very elongated because of the large number of gaps that have to be inserted. As always, tables with extensive background information gathered from the literature accompany the whole genome alignments. The collection of whole-gene sequences in the database is now large enough that we have abundant representation of most subtypes. For many subtypes, and especially for subtype B, a large number of sequences that span entire genes were not more » included in the printed alignments to conserve space. A more complete version of all alignments is available on our website, http://hiv-web.lanl.gov/content/hiv-db/ALIGN_CURRENT/ALIGN-INDEX.html. Importantly, all these alignments have been edited to include only one sequence per person, based on phylogenetic trees that were created for all of them, as well as on the literature. Because of the number of sequences available, we have decided to use a different selection principle this year, based on the epidemiological importance of the subtypes. Subtypes A–D and CRFs 01 and 02 are by far the most widespread variants, and for these (when available) we have included 8–10 representatives in the alignments. The other subtypes and CRFs are of lesser importance, and of these 4–5 each, or as many as are available, were included. In the alignments we have also included the ‘Circulating Recombinant Forms’, mosaic genomes that have epidemiological significance. See the 1999 review of nomenclature (http://hiv-web.lanl.gov/content/hiv-db/REVIEWS/nomenclature/Nomen.html) for more on CRFs, and see for an overview of the patterns of known CRFs. Amino acid alignment chapters begin with an annotation table that includes sequence names, accession numbers, genomic region represented, author, and references. We have made an effort to bring the HIV-2/SIV and SIVagm alignments up-to-date as well. « less

Tracking global patterns of N-linked glycosylation site variation in highly variable viral glycoproteins: HIV, SIV, and HCV envelopes and influenza hemagglutinin.

Abstract: Human and simian immunodeficiency viruses (HIV and SIV), influenza virus, and hepatitis C virus (HCV) have heavily glycosylated, highly variable surface proteins. Here we explore N-linked glycosylation site (sequon) variation at the population level in these viruses, using a new Web-based program developed to facilitate the sequon tracking and to define patterns (www.hiv.lanl.gov). This tool allowed rapid visualization of the two distinctive patterns of sequon variation found in HIV-1, HIV-2, and SIV CPZ. The first pattern (fixed) describes readily aligned sites that are either simply present or absent. These sites tend to be occupied by high-mannose glycans. The second pattern (shifting) refers to sites embedded in regions of extreme local length variation and is characterized by shifts in terms of the relative position and local density of sequons; these sites tend to be populated by complex carbohydrates. HIV, with its extreme variation in number and precise location of sequons, does not have a net increase in the number of sites over time at the population level. Primate lentiviral lineages have host species-dependent levels of sequon shifting, with HIV-1 in humans the most extreme. HCV E1 and E2 proteins, despite evolving extremely rapidly through point mutation, show limited sequon variation, although two shifting sites were identified. Human influenza A hemagglutinin H3 HA1 is accumulating sequons over time, but this trend is not evident in any other avian or human influenza A serotypes.

SPAdes, a new genome assembly algorithm and its applications to single-cell sequencing ( 7th Annual SFAF Meeting, 2012)

Abstract: The lion's share of bacteria in various environments cannot be cloned in the laboratory and thus cannot be sequenced using existing technologies. A major goal of single-cell genomics is to complement gene-centric metagenomic data with whole-genome assemblies of uncultivated organisms. Assembly of single-cell data is challenging because of highly non-uniform read coverage as well as elevated levels of sequencing errors and chimeric reads. We describe SPAdes, a new assembler for both single-cell and standard (multicell) assembly, and demonstrate that it improves on the recently released E+V-SC assembler (specialized for single-cell data) and on popular assemblers Velvet and SoapDeNovo (for multicell data). SPAdes generates single-cell assemblies, providing information about genomes of uncultivatable bacteria that vastly exceeds what may be obtained via traditional metagenomics studies. SPAdes is available online ( http://bioinf.spbau.ru/spades ). It is distributed as open source software.

Characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19

Abstract: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a highly transmissible and pathogenic coronavirus that emerged in late 2019 and has caused a pandemic of acute respiratory disease, named ‘coronavirus disease 2019’ (COVID-19), which threatens human health and public safety. In this Review, we describe the basic virology of SARS-CoV-2, including genomic characteristics and receptor use, highlighting its key difference from previously known coronaviruses. We summarize current knowledge of clinical, epidemiological and pathological features of COVID-19, as well as recent progress in animal models and antiviral treatment approaches for SARS-CoV-2 infection. We also discuss the potential wildlife hosts and zoonotic origin of this emerging virus in detail. In this Review, Shi and colleagues summarize the exceptional amount of research that has characterized acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) since this virus has swept around the globe. They discuss what we know so far about the emergence and virology of SARS-CoV-2 and the pathogenesis and treatment of COVID-19.