An in vivo duck hepatitis B virus model recapitulates key aspects of nucleic acid polymer treatment outcomes in chronic hepatitis B patients.

Nucleic acid polymers (NAPs) are an attractive treatment modality for chronic hepatitis B (CHB), with REP2139 and REP2165 having shown efficacy in CHB patients. A subset of patients achieve functional cure, whereas the others exhibit a moderate response or are non-responders. NAP efficacy has been difficult to recapitulate in animal models, with the duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) model showing some promise but remaining underexplored for NAP efficacy testing.

Genome Sequences and Phylogeny of Two Duck Hepatitis B Viruses.

Duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) infection in Pekin ducks is a model for human hepatitis B. Sequence variations may contribute to host therapy responses against the virus. We provide full genome sequences of two DHBVs from France, their phylogenetic classification, and their sequence variability.

Low genetic but high morphological variation over more than 1000 km coastline refutes omnipresence of cryptic diversity in marine nematodes.

Background: The resilience of ecosystems to negative impacts is generally higher when high gene flow, species diversity and genetic diversity are present. Population genetic studies are suitable to investigate genetic diversity and estimate gene flow between populations. Seaweed beds form a dynamic shallow water ecosystem influenced by climate change and human exploitation, as such, seaweed beds are a particularly powerful model to investigate ecosystem resilience in coastal areas.