Abstract: The present invention relates to a new polynucleotide that encodes a polypeptide involved in cellular entrance of PRRSV, to a recombinant vector comprising said polynucleotide, to a cell capable of expressing said polypeptide, a method of producing said polypeptide as well as to cell culture and to a novel method of producing the PRRSV virus. The present invention further relates to a method of identifying compounds that affect the PRRSV receptor function of the polypeptide as well as to the use of the polypeptide or identified compounds in the manufacture of medicaments. The present inventors have succeeded in isolating a protein from PAM membranes that seems to play a crucial role in virus entry into the cell. The elucidated nucleotide sequence encoding the protein, as well as the amino acid sequence of the protein, were compared with sequences stored in sequence databases.

Abstract: The present invention provides experimentally-generated cold-adapted equine influenza viruses, and reassortant influenza A viruses comprising at least one genome segment of such an equine influenza virus, wherein the equine influenza virus genome segment confers at least one identifying phenotype of the cold-adapted equine influenza virus, such as cold-adaptation, temperature sensitivity, dominant interference, or attenuation. Such viruses are formulated into therapeutic compositions to protect animals from diseases caused by influenza A viruses, and in particular, to protect horses from disease caused by equine influenza virus. The present invention also includes methods to protect animals from diseases caused by influenza A virus utilizing the claimed therapeutic compositions.

Abstract: A recombinant microbial cell comprises at least one increased expressible enzyme activity controlling anabolic metabolism of ammonia as a nutrient source, the increased enzyme activity being an NADH-dependent activity catalysing the reaction (a) 2-oxoglutarate+NH3+NADH?glutamate+NAD or being an activity catalysing the reaction (b) 2-oxoglutarate+glutamine+NADH?2 glutamate+NAD or being an activity catalysing the reaction (c) glutamate+NH3+ATP?glutamine+ADP+Pi. The increased enzyme activity is encoded by a nucleic acid coding sequence linked to an expression signal not natively associated with the nucleic acid coding sequence and is increased as compared to the expression of the enzyme activity when the nucleic acid coding sequence is associated with its native expression signal.