Influenza A viruses are hosted by numerous avian
and mammalian species, which have shaped their
evolution into distinct lineages worldwide. The viral
genome consists of eight RNA segments that are
frequently exchanged between different viruses
via a process known as genetic reassortment.
A complete genotype nomenclature is essential to
describe gene segment reassortment. Specialized
bioinformatic tools to analyze reassortment are not
available, which hampers progress in understanding
its role in host range, virulence and transmissibility
of influenza viruses. To meet this need, we have
developed a nomenclature to name influenza
A genotypes and implemented a web server,
FluGenome (http://www.flugenome.org/), for the
assignment of lineages and genotypes. FluGenome
provides functions for the user to interrogate
the database in different modalities and get
detailed reports on lineages and genotypes. These
features make FluGenome unique in its ability to
automatically detect genotype differences attributable
to reassortment events in influenza A virus
evolution.