Bacterial alteration of redox stressors impacts environmental stability of influenza A virus

Abstract

Influenza A virus is a major cause of illness and death every year. A key knowledge gap exists in understanding what factors modulate viral transmission. One potential mediator of viral transmission is the bacteria that are found in the human nasopharynx. However, the mechanisms responsible for bacterial modulation of viral transmission are unclear. Here, we utilize a simplified model of environmental survival where we expose viral particles to indoor environmental conditions in the presence of bacterial cells. We demonstrate that hydrogen peroxide produced by Streptococcus pneumoniae reduces viral environmental survival, while incubation with catalase or viable Staphylococcus aureus cells can protect viral particles from S. pneumoniae -mediated viability loss. This supports a model of trans-kingdom bacterial-viral interactions where bacterial metabolites produced in the respiratory droplet are capable of modulating viral environmental survival and therefore transmission.