As the countdown to the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 continues, we shine a spotlight on some of the podium sweeps that have lit up past editions of the global showpiece.
This five-part series continues with a look back at Kenya’s dominance in the men’s 3000m steeplechase in Athens in 1997.
——
When it comes to single-nation dominance of an athletics discipline, few countries have managed to achieve the kind of stranglehold on an event like Kenya has with the steeplechase.
Between 1968 and 2016 (and not counting the years when they boycotted the Games), Kenya won every Olympic title in the men’s 3000m steeplechase, achieving full podium sweeps in 1992 and 2004.
The east African nation has been similarly dominant at the World Championships. Kenyan athletes won the men’s steeplechase at every edition between 1991 and 2019 – apart from 2003 and 2005 when gold went to Qatar’s Saif Saaeed Shaheen, who was born and raised in Kenya.
Kenya has achieved three steeplechase podium sweeps at the World Championships, the first of which came in Athens in 1997.
That was a big year for both Kenya and Greece. Athens was a candidate city to host the 2004 Olympic Games, so local organisers naturally wanted to make a good impression with the World Championships in Athens. With crowd sizes growing from 45,000 to 70,000 throughout the championships, the event proved that Greece could generate a strong international athletics fan base.
The men’s 3000m steeplechase was poised to be an interesting battle among three Kenyans who all held the world record in that event at some point that same year. Moses Kiptanui came in with the most accolades, having won the world titles in 1991, 1993 and 1995. He had also held the world record since 1992, and in 1995 he became the first man to break the eight-minute barrier. As the defending champion and world record-holder going into the championships, and having won all of his races that season, most eyes were on him.
The race got off to an aggressive start, with all competitors aiming to secure a good position at the front of the pack leading into the first water jump. Kiptanui, along with teammates Wilson Boit Kipketer and Bernard Barmasai, dictated the steady pace, while Saudi Arabia’s Saad Shaddad Al-Asmari and Morocco’s Hicham Bouaouiche remained within striking distance.
Shortly before the final lap, Al-Asmari took the lead on the inside from Kiptanui. Coming to the bell, Kiptanui regained the lead by a slight margin, and the two Kenyans and the Saud Arabian followed closely for 200 metres. The Kenyan trio then dropped Al-Asmari with half a lap to go, and Kipketer, stuck behind both Barmasai and Kiptanui, attacked the water jump with fervour and used the momentum to storm past Kiptanui and take the victory. He closed his last lap in 57.5 and finished first in 8:05.84. Kiptanui and Barmasai ended in the same time of 8:06.04, and were given second and third places respectively.
Exactly one week after the World Championships final, Kipketer broke the world record in Zurich with 7:59.08, once again beating Barmasai and Kiptanui. In the aftermath of that race, former world record-holder Kiptanui said: “When so many Kenyans start together in a race in this stadium, the only possibility is to expect a world record.”
He wasn’t wrong. Just 11 days later, Barmasai enjoyed his moment in the spotlight and a place in the history books, smashing the world record in Cologne with 7:55.72. Kiptanui finished second in 7:56.16, also well inside Kipketer’s world record.
Athens would end up winning out, too. In September of that year, following a successful World Championships, the Greek capital won the bid to host the Olympics in 2004. And at those Games, Kenya would sweep the podium in the event again, this time led by Ezekiel Kemboi, who would later be coached by Kiptanui.
Leading German-born music professor and string teacher Reinhart von Gutzeit died on 11 July 2025 in Lucerne, Switzerland, at the age of 78.
Over his career he served as rector of the Mozarteum Salzburg University, Austria (2006–14), president of the Salzburg Biennale festival (2009–14) and director of the Bruckner Conservatory, Linz, Austria (1995–2004). He was also a highly respected teacher of violin, viola and conducting.
Von Gutzeit was born in Berlin on 18 February 1947. He attended the Düsseldorf Youth Music School and completed his music education studies at the Cologne University of Music.
After spending almost 30 years teaching violin, viola and conducting, and as director of music for schools in Rheinbach and Bochum, Germany, in 1995 von Gutzeit was appointed as director of the Bruckner Conservatory in Linz, Austria. Under his leadership, the institution was accredited as the Anton Bruckner Private University in 2004.
He was appointed rector of the Mozarteum University Salzburg in 2006, where he served until 2014. He subsequently spent ten years as a member of the Mozarteum’s executive board and was appointed an honorary member in 2025.
The current rector of the Mozarteum Salzburg, Professor Elisabeth Gutjahr, said: ‘Reinhart von Gutzeit’s voice will resonate for a long time to come and in many places… Education was a matter close to his heart, a unifying force across generations, social groups, and cultures, the key to humanity, diversity, and a peaceful future. We remain deeply indebted to him.’
In The Best of Technique you’ll discover the top playing tips of the world’s leading string players and teachers. It’s packed full of exercises for students, plus examples from the standard repertoire to show you how to integrate the technique into your playing.
In the second volume of The Strad’s Masterclass series, soloists including James Ehnes, Jennifer Koh, Philippe Graffin, Daniel Hope and Arabella Steinbacher give their thoughts on some of the greatest works in the string repertoire. Each has annotated the sheet music with their own bowings, fingerings and comments.
The Canada Council of the Arts’ Musical Instrument Bank is 40 years old in 2025. This year’s calendar celebrates some its treasures, including four instruments by Antonio Stradivari and priceless works by Montagnana, Gagliano, Pressenda and David Tecchler.
Scientists believe two meteorites found in the Sahara Desert in 2023 may have come from Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun. If confirmed, these would be the first meteorites ever found from Mercury.
Mercury is hard to study because it is very close to the Sun. Only two spacecraft, Mariner 10 and MESSENGER, have visited it so far. A third, BepiColombo, will reach there in 2026.
From Mars and the Moon, over 1,100 meteorites have reached Earth. However, Mercury has never been confirmed as a source.
Also Read | Ancient factory, used by Neanderthals, found in Germany
Researchers now think Mercury, despite its size, might be able to send rock fragments into Space during asteroid impacts. Planets like Venus, although closer to Earth, may not be able to do the same due to their strong gravity and thick atmosphere.
If proven true, these new meteorites could help scientists better understand Mercury’s surface.
“Based on the amount of lunar and Martian meteorites, we should have around 10 Mercury meteorites, according to dynamical modelling,” CNN quoted researcher Ben Rider-Stokes.
Also Read | Scientists decode DNA of man who lived around 5,000 years ago
“However, Mercury is a lot closer to the sun, so anything that’s ejected off Mercury also has to escape the sun’s gravity to get to us. It is dynamically possible, just a lot harder. No one has confidently identified a meteorite from Mercury as of yet,” he added.
If confirmed to be from Mercury, meteorites NWA 15915 and KG 022 could help scientists learn more about the planet. However, there are doubts as the rocks seem 500 million years older than Mercury’s surface.
Rider-Stokes, anyway, believes this mismatch may be due to wrong estimates. Until samples are brought from Mercury or a visit to the planet, proving their origin remains very difficult.
Also Read | Astronomers receive powerful radio signal only 4,500 km away from Earth
Previous finds
In 2012, a meteorite named NWA 7325, found in Morocco, was thought to be from Mercury. It excited scientists. Nevertheless, later tests showed it had too much chrome, which didn’t match Mercury’s known surface.
Another group of meteorites, called aubrites, found earlier in France, were also believed to be from Mercury’s inner layer. However, their chemical makeup didn’t match Mercury’s surface.
These new meteorites found in the Sahara may, however, truly be from Mercury. These rocks have minerals like olivine and pyroxene, which match findings from NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft. The samples also showed no iron, which fits scientists’ understanding of Mercury’s surface.
The BBC has reached a record number of people on its digital platforms and spotlighted a review into its workplace culture following the “shocking” revelations about former news anchor Huw Edwards.
The U.K. broadcaster released its annual report and accounts on Tuesday which detailed how the company has remained the number one brand for media in the U.K.
Digital consumption of BBC content significantly increased this year, the report said, with nearly 10 percent more requests on streaming platform BBC iPlayer. A whopping 4.5 billion viewing hours were accrued on the service, which was was also the U.K.’s fastest-growing long-form video-on-demand platform over the last year.
Programming which drove audiences to the BBC included The Traitors, Race Across the World, Gavin and Stacey: The Finale, the Men’s European Football Championships, the Olympic Games in Paris, award winning podcasts such as Miss Me?, and in news, Britain’s national election coverage.
Aside from lauding digital success, the report also spotlights the BBC’s workplace culture review in the wake of “shocking revelations” about Huw Edwards, as well as “several further cases of inappropriate behaviors and abuses of power.” In September, the former newsreader was handed a six-month prison sentence suspended for two years after pleading guilty to making indecent images of children.
The review ordered by the BBC “found no evidence of a toxic culture at the BBC,” but in a series of detailed findings and recommendations, “key areas for improvement” were highlighted which the company is “implementing at pace.” The latest scandal to rock a BBC show is Gregg Wallace’s departure from MasterChef. The 60-year-old was fired from the cooking series last week after over 50 people came forward with allegations about the presenter’s inappropriate behavior on and off set.
Elsewhere in the report, trust in BBC News went up year-on-year in 2024/25 and theBBC News app is now the number one news app in the U.K. for monthly reach. The site has a weekly audience of 453 million people worldwide, and 74 percent of adults in Britain use BBC News each week.
On finances, the report highlighted an income of £3.8 billion ($5.1bn) from the U.K.’s TV licences as 23.8 million remain in force. BBC Commercial delivered record sales of £2.2 billion ($3bn) while BBC Studios, the main commercial arm, delivered its fourth successive year of net earnings in excess of £200m ($269m).
Despite this success, however, the report said that this is not enough to plug the gap left by a licence fee that generates 30 percent less income for the BBC now than it did in 2010, as well as rising costs across the production sector. “In response to these financial challenges, we have made further progress towards our £700 million annual recurring savings target by March 2028, achieving total savings of £564 million since 2022/23,” the findings said.
The company said it has reduced a net 400 of public service posts, including the closure of 900 roles which has enabled reinvestment into 400 new positions. “We are working hard to transform the BBC through cutting-edge technology and AI driven innovation,” the BBC said.
“We have already used Generative AI to increase the value we offer audiences with initiatives such as adding subtitles to programmes on BBC Sounds, and we continue to look at ways we can use AI to transform our digital offer, in line with our published principles.”
BBC director-general Tim Davie said he is proud of the speed at which the BBC is transforming to “meet the challenges of a fast-changing media landscape.”
“This report demonstrates the importance of the BBC and the vital role we play in helping to strengthen the U.K.’s democracy, economy, and society, now and in the years to come.”
Good morning. As the Q2 2025 earnings season begins, CFOs are navigating a landscape shaped by new tariffs, shifting consumer demand, and heightened market scrutiny.
The first quarter benefited from a pull-forward of demand ahead of anticipated tariffs. In contrast, the second quarter will test companies’ ability to manage margin pressure, supply chain disruptions, and evolving trade policy risks.
Major U.S. banks are among the first to report results this week. For all companies reporting, analysts will be “laser-focused” on how President Donald Trump’s import taxes are affecting corporate profits, according to Morningstar. A key theme is the impact of tariffs and trade policy uncertainty, with analysts closely watching for margin pressures, signs of slowing consumer demand, how companies are preparing for new tariffs, and how they are handling levies that have already been implemented.
Markets have remained relatively calm heading into Q2, with major indices like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq recently reaching new highs. Morningstar notes that Q2 earnings are expected to reveal trends among firms in tariff-affected industries. Companies with higher costs and tighter margins may be forced to absorb more tariff expenses, while those with stronger competitive advantages may be able to pass more costs onto consumers.
The momentum that propelled the S&P 500 to nearly an 11% gain in Q2 and more than 7% year-to-date will be tested this week, according to Saira Malik, chief investment officer at global investment manager Nuveen. Malik highlighted in a LinkedIn post on Monday two key dynamics: the unofficial start of earnings season with Q2 reports from the financial sector, and a series of U.S. economic data releases, such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI) scheduled for release this morning.
Malik adds, “While overall earnings growth is expected to decelerate from last quarter, estimates have stabilized in recent weeks after falling sharply in early April. Still, the Q2 earnings bar is relatively low.”
On the economic front, Josh Hirt, senior U.S. economist at Vanguard, expects core CPI to increase 0.25% month-over-month (2.9% year-over-year) and headline CPI to rise 0.29% month-over-month (2.6% year-over-year), reflecting moderate strength following May’s soft print. “While tariff-related pressures are beginning to show in select goods categories in the PCE, the overall passthrough into CPI remains limited for now as firms hold off on retail price hikes,” he said in an emailed statement.
Regarding CFO sentiment, Deloitte’s Q2 2025 CFO Signals report released last week found that growth expectations declined across every key operational metric, with finance chiefs lowering projections for revenue, earnings, and capital investments.
However, Steve Gallucci, global and U.S. leader of Deloitte’s CFO Program, described the current environment as a recalibration, not a retreat. Finance leaders are doubling down on fundamentals: sharpening focus on growth drivers, managing controllable risks, and staying active in M&A.
SherylEstrada sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
Leaderboard
Fortune 500 Power Moves
L-R: Leeny Oberg, Jen Mason, Shawn Hill; Courtesy of Marriott International
Marriott
Leeny Oberg, CFO and EVP of development at Marriott International (No. 171) has decided to retire effective March 31, 2026, after spending more than two decades with the U.S. hotel operator. Oberg, CFO since 2016, will be succeeded by Jen Mason, who joined Marriott in 1992 and currently serves as global officer, treasurer and risk management. Mason is also a former CFO of the U.S. and Canada at the company. Shawn Hill was promoted to the role of EVP and chief development officer, effective Jan. 1. Oberg has been in that role since February 2023.
Every Friday morning, the weekly Fortune 500 Power Moves column tracks Fortune 500 company C-suite shifts—see the most recent edition.
More notable moves
Mark Mesler has stepped down from his position as CFO of Archer Aviation Inc. (NYSE: ACHR), effective July 7, according to an SEC filing. Mesler had been on medical leave since September 2024. During his absence, Priya Gupta has served as CFO and acting principal financial officer. Gupta will continue in these roles. Harsh Rungta will also remain as SVP of finance and chief accounting officer and principal accounting officer.
Sarah C. Young was appointed CFO at Bell Partners, a privately held company specializing in apartment investment and management, and will succeed John Tomlinson upon his planned retirement effective Aug. 22. Young joined the company on July 9 and will report to Lili Dunn, CEO and president of Bell Partners. After his retirement, Tomlinson will remain as an advisor to the company through the end of 2025. Young previously served as CFO and senior managing director at Quarterra Group, a subsidiary of homebuilder Lennar, where she worked for 10 years. Before that, Young was part of the finance group at Walton Street Capital.
Big Deal
The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD)’s Q2 2025 Quarterly Survey found that 62% of directors cite shifting economic conditions as the top business issue for boards. Also, in the findings from the 305 directors surveyed, AI now outranks cybersecurity, supply chains, and even talent competition in terms of business issues.
Although AI remains a top focus, NACD says it is clear from survey responses that organizations are in very different positions with respect to AI adoption and implementation. Some companies are in the middle of the implementation of AI projects, working to “move beyond pilots to deployments” or focusing on improving governance of AI, including determining “where it can be implemented and why, and internal controls around verification of output.”
Going deeper
“Elon Musk spent months slashing federal contracts — Now his AI company is celebrating a $200M Pentagon contract and new unit to get government business” is a new Fortune report by Jessica Mathews.
Elon Musk’s xAI, a two-year-old AI company, said in a blog post Monday that it has launched a new division, called “Grok with Government,” and signed a contract worth up to $200 million with the Department of Defense, Mathews writes. xAI also announced that it had been added to the General Services Administration schedule, meaning that xAI products will now be available for purchase across every government office and agency. Read more here.
Overheard
“Let’s ensure the path to business ownership isn’t closed off by Wall Street’s python but remains open to every American willing to lift themselves and their families.”
—Brian Hamilton writes in a new Fortune opinion piece. Hamilton founded Sageworks, a since-acquired fintech company that helped business owners translate complex financial information. He also starred in ABC’s Free Enterprise, and founded the Brian Hamilton Foundation and Inmates to Entrepreneurs.
This is the web version of CFO Daily, a newsletter on the trends and individuals shaping corporate finance. Sign up for free.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Following a wave of backlash on social media, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has decided to remove the controversial sculpture on Margalla
Avenue, which depicted two golden hands holding spheres.
The artwork quickly became the subject of widespread ridicule online, with many criticising its unclear symbolism and perceived lack of artistic value. Social media users labeled it tone-deaf and questioned its suitability for a public space in the capital.
A CDA spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday that the sculpture was dismantled by a private housing society. Reportedly, the structure was part of a corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative by a real estate project. However, the CDA clarified that the design had not received approval from the relevant authority within the department.
It remains uncertain whether the removal was a decision taken independently by the CDA or directed by higher authorities. Questions have also been raised about how the installation was allowed to be set up without prior approval.
According to a CDA official, efforts to take down the sculpture had begun a day earlier using a crane but were halted due to rain.
The installation sparked a flood of online criticism, jokes, and memes, with many demanding that the CDA clarify the purpose and message behind the piece.
Among the 488 throat swab samples collected from settings with ILI outbreaks in Suzhou between March 2024 and January 2025, 53 tested positive for HAdV via real-time PCR. These cases were reported in May (25 cases), June (10 cases), November (8 cases) and December (10 cases). The overall HAdV positive rate was 10.86%, ranking second among common respiratory pathogens, following influenza virus (36.68%) and preceding SARS-CoV-2 (9.43%), rhinovirus (5.74%) and enterovirus (4.51%). No significant regional difference in HAdV-positive rates was observed across Zhangjiagang City (22.43%), Wujiang District (33.33%), Taicang City (40%) and Changshu City (20%) (Fig. 1 and Table 1). However, there was a slight difference in gender distribution, with a higher HAdV-positive rate in males than in females (13.83% vs. 7.66%, p = 0.028) (Table 1).
All HAdV-positive cases were exclusively identified in children aged 7–10 years, whereas no infections were detected in the 3–6 year or 11–15 year age groups. To further access the age distribution of HAdV infections, we analyzed data from ILI outpatients and hospitalized pneumonia patients from the same period in Suzhou. As shown in Supplementary Table 1, there were significant differences in HAdV-positive rates across age groups in both cohorts (p < 0.001). Among ILI outpatients, the positive rate peaked in the 7–10 (16.99%) and 3–6 (16.89%) year age groups. Among hospitalized pneumonia patients, the highest positive rate was observed in the 3–6 year age group (10.00%) (unpublished data).
Fig. 1
The geographical distribution of HAdV outbreak samples in this study
Table 1 Distribution of HAdV positivity by region and gender in ILI outbreak samples
Phylogenetic analysis
In this study, 29 samples were selected from the 53 HAdV-positive outbreak samples for virus isolation and whole-genome sequencing. Detailed sample information is provided in Supplementary Table 2. The nucleotide identities of the whole genome, hexon, penton base and fiber genes were 97.5–100%, 94.2–100%, 99.5–100% and 97.2–100%, respectively. The phylogenetic tree constructed from whole genome sequences was divided into four clusters based on topological structure and evolutionary distance. The intra-cluster distances ranged from 0 to 0.0371, while the inter-cluster distances ranged from 0.050 to 0.192. All 29 outbreak strains were assigned to Cluster 1, together with all HAdVB3 and HAdVB7 reference strains circulating in the United States, Germany and China between 1955 and 2023. Additionally, three HAdVB3/7 recombinant strains, including two HAdVB66 strains (JN860676.1 and JX423386.1) collected from Argentina in 1987 and 2003, and strain NICED/23 − 01/1914 (OR039269.1) isolated from India in 2023, were also classified within Cluster 1. Other genotypes within species B were located in Cluster 2, Cluster 3 and Cluster 4. Most of the 29 outbreak strains were more closely related to HAdVB3 reference strains in evolutionary relationships, showing 99.2-99.9% nucleotide identity to strain SH20160055 (MW748667.1) collected in Shanghai, China in 2016. Six strains obtained in this study (SZZJ20240513, SZZJ20240515, SZZJ20240516, SZTC20241133, SZCS20241240 and SZCS20241242) exhibited higher nucleotide homology to HAdVB66 strain 87–922 (JN860676.1) and strain NICED/23 − 01/1914 (OR039269.1), with 98.5-99.0% and 98.4-99.6% nucleotide sequence identities, respectively (Fig. 2A).
The phylogenetic tree based on the hexon gene was also stratified into four cluster, consistent with the whole genome analysis. The intra-cluster evolutionary distances for Cluster 1, Cluster 3 and Cluster 4 were 0.049, 0.080 and 0.092, respectively. Among the 29 outbreak strains, two (SZZJ20240513 and SZTC20241133) clustered with HAdVB3 reference strains, with 98.9% nucleotide identity. In contrast, four strains (SZZJ20240515, SZZJ20240516, SZCS20241240 and SZCS20241242) were closely related to HAdVB7 reference strains, with 97.1-100% nucleotide identity. The remaining outbreak strains were nearly identical to HAdVB3 reference strains, with identities ranging from 99.9 to 100% (Fig. 2B).
The penton base gene sequences were categorized into three clusters, with the intra-cluster evolutionary distances ranging from 0.005 to 0.075, and the inter-cluster distances ranging from 0.159 to 0.208. Similar to the classification of the whole genome and hexon gene sequences, most outbreak strains belonged to Cluster 1 and were closely related to HAdVB3 reference strains. Notably, six strains (SZZJ20240513, SZZJ20240515, SZZJ20240516, SZTC20241133, SZCS20241240 and SZCS20241242), along with strain SZTC20241129, exhibited closer evolutionary relationships with HAdVB7 and HAdVB66 reference strains (Fig. 2C). The phylogenetic tree based on the fiber gene formed four clusters. In contrast to the trees based on the whole genome and the other two major capsid genes, all HAdVB7 reference strains formed a separate cluster along with several other genotypes within species B. All 29 outbreak strains clustered with epidemic HAdVB3 strains, sharing 98.2-100% nucleotide identity with HAdVB3 strains from neighboring regions, including strain SH20160055 (MW748667.1) from Shanghai in 2016 and strain ZJ20150111 (MW748671.1) from Hangzhou in 2015 (Fig. 2D).
Overall, most HAdV strains isolated from ILI outbreaks in Suzhou clustered closely with HAdVB3 reference strains. A subset showed genomic similarities to HAdVB7 or related recombinant genotypes, suggesting the presence of recombination events and warranting further investigation.
Amino acid variation analysis
The amino acid identities of the 29 outbreak strains were 95.2-100% for hexon, 99.4-100% for penton base, and 96.2-100% for fiber. The sequences obtained were highly consistent and nine representative strains were selected for amino acid variation analysis. Seven hypervariable regions (HVRs) on the surface of the hexon protein carry the type-specific antigenic determinants, which elicit protective antibodies and confer immunity against reinfection by homologous HAdV strains. HVR1 to HVR6 are situated within the loop 1 domain, and HVR7 is located in the loop 2 domain [27, 28]. Compared with the HAdVB3 reference strain collected from the United States in 2013 (OQ518322.1), the amino acid mutation N439D in loop 2 was shared by three samples (SZWJ20240505, SZZJ20240511, SZTC20241129), as well as in a previously reported Suzhou strain JSSZ1705_S31 from 2017. Four amino acid substitutions (H417N, A429T, N439A, M884L) in loop 2 were common in SZZJ20240513 and SZTC20241133, which were identical to the HAdVB3/7 recombinant strain NICED/23 − 01/1914 (OR039269.1). Consistent with the evolutionary relationships described in the phylogenetic tree of the hexon gene, the amino acid sequence in the loop 1 and loop 2 domains of SZZJ20240516 was identical to Beijing HAdVB7 strain isolated in 2017 (MT367401.1). Additionally, the substitutions in three remaining samples (SZZJ20240515, SZCS20241240, SZCS20241242) were inherited from either Beijing HAdVB7 strain (MT367401.1) or the recombinant strain NICED/23 − 01/1914 (OR039269.1) (Fig. 3A).
During the viral entry process, the fiber knob domain interacts with the primary cellular receptors (e.g., CAR, CD46 and DSG2), followed by interaction between the RGD loop of the penton base and secondary receptors such as αV integrins [3, 29]. Amino acid substitutions within these domains may alter receptor binding and influence viral infectivity. Compared with the HAdVB3 reference sequence (OQ518322.1), the substitution T462A in the penton base was present in nearly all strains obtained in the study except SZWJ20240505 and SZZJ20240511, as well as in Chinese reference strains isolated after 2013. Moreover, an additional substitution D325N in RGD loop was observed in three strains (SZZJ20240515, SZZJ20240516 and SZCS20241240) and mutation Q122R was observed in SZTC20241129. No additional mutations were found in SZZJ20240511. In contrast, a unique substitution, K171T, was detected in SZWJ20240505. This substitution is located adjacent to the HVR1 region (amino acids 149–169) and was absent in all reference strains (Fig. 3B).
In the fiber gene, the substitution T316R in the knob domain was shared by six outbreak strains. Among these, five strains (SZZJ20240513, SZZJ20240515, SZZJ20240516, SZCS20241240, SZCS20241242) carried two additional mutations (N22T, L23S) in the N-terminal domain, and one strain SZTC20241133 had an extra N72D mutation. The fiber sequences of SZWJ20240505 and SZZJ20240511 were identical to the HAdVB3 reference sequence (OQ518322.1). In contrast, the fiber sequence of SZTC20241129 was identical to those of two Shanghai HAdVB3 strains in 2011 (MK883603.1) and 2016 (MW748667.1), which were distinguished from OQ518322.1 solely by the N72D mutation (Fig. 3C).
Fig. 2
Phylogenetic analysis of HAdV strains isolated from 2024 ILI outbreaks in Suzhou. The trees for whole genome (A), hexon (B), penton base (C) and fiber gene (D) were constructed by the maximum likelihood (ML) method with IQ-TREE v2.3.6. The strains obtained in this study were highlighted in bold and marked with red circles (). Numbers above branches indicate bootstrap values, with those greater than 75% were shown
Fig. 3
Amino acid variation analysis of hexon (A), penton base (B) and fiber (C) sequences obtained in this study. The loop 1 domain of hexon (amino acids 131–314) and knob domain of fiber (amino acids 124–319) were highlighted in pink, while the loop 2 domain of hexon (amino acids 405–454) and RGD loop of penton base (amino acids 299–362) were colored in yellow
Recombination analysis
Homologous recombination between HAdV types is a major driver of increasing viral genetic diversity and may influence infectivity and virulence. The recombination analysis of the 29 whole genome sequences revealed that seven strains (SZZJ20240513, SZZJ20240515, SZZJ20240516, SZTC20241129, SZTC20241133, SZCS20241240, SZCS20241242) were recombined from HAdVB3 and HAdVB7 genotypes, whereas the remaining strains were classified as HAdVB3 genotype without intertypic recombination (Supplementary Fig. 1). The recombination event of SZTC20241129 occurred with a beginning breakpoint at around 6,074 nucleotide location and an ending breakpoint at around 15,410 nucleotide location, encompassing partial E2B gene region, 52/55 kDa protein, protein IIIa precursor (pIIIa) as well as penton base, which recombined from the HAdVB7 strain isolated in Hubei, China in 2019 (MW816101) (Fig. 4A). In contrast to the recombinant pattern of SZTC20241129, the strain SZZJ20240516 harbored a HAdVB7-derived backbone and a HAdVB3-derived insertional fragment. The recombination breakpoints of SZZJ20240516 were comparable to those of SZZJ20240515, SZCS20241240 and SZCS20241242, which appeared with a recombinant region spanning L5-fiber, partial E3 and E4 gene regions derived from the HAdVB3 strain found in the United States in 2016 (OR777202.1) (Fig. 4B). The identified recombinant events of both SZTC20241129 and SZZJ20240516 were consistent in the RDP4 and SimPlot analysis. The average p values calculated across six of seven selected detection methods implemented in the RDP4 software were ranging from 7.41 × 10–130 to 2.49 × 10–33 for SZTC20241129 and 6.85 × 10–173 to 1.92 × 10–49 for SZZJ20240516, which further substantiated the occurrence of the recombination events (Supplementary Table 3).
The recombination pattern of SZZJ20240513 was similar to that of SZTC20241133, with two recombinant regions were detected by SimPlot analysis. The recombinant region 1 (around 18,257 − 25,219 nucleotide location of SZZJ20240513) encompassed partial protein VI precursor (pVI), hexon, DNA-binding protein (DBP) and partial 100 kDa hexon-assembly associated protein (100k) gene region, and the recombinant region 2 (around 27,927 − 33,987 nucleotide location of SZZJ20240513) covered partial E3 gene region, L5-fiber and partial sequences of E4 gene region. Both recombinant regions originated from an HAdVB7 strain isolated in the United States in 2007 (MH921843.1), while the backbone was derived from HAdVB3 (OR777202.1) (Fig. 4C). However, RDP4 analysis revealed that a contiguous gene region spanning both regions described above was derived from HAdVB3 (OR777202.1), with an internal fragment originating from HAdVB7 (MH921843.1) (Supplementary Table 3). To further validate the recombination events, phylogenetic analysis was performed for three gene regions, including the recombinant region 1 (Region 1, 18,257 − 25,218 nucleotide location of SZZJ20240513), recombinant region 2 (Region 2, 27,927 − 33,987 nucleotide location of SZZJ20240513) and the interjacent region (Region 3, 25,219 − 27,926 nucleotide location of SZZJ20240513). The ML trees indicated that both Region 1 and Region 2 clustered with HAdVB3 reference strains, whereas Region 3 clustered with HAdVB7 reference strains. The phylogenetic position supported the results of the recombination analysis (Fig. 5). Notably, the strain NICED/23 − 01/1914 (OR039269.1), collected from a hospitalized child during an outbreak in West Bengal, India between December 2022 and March 2023 [18], exhibited a similar recombination pattern to that of SZZJ20240513 (Fig. 4D). Importantly, such recombination patterns were not observed in HAdVB3 or HAdVB7 strains previously circulating in China (e.g., Suzhou, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Hubei) from 2011 to 2019, which were included in our earlier phylogenetic analysis.
Regarding the genotypes of the three major capsid proteins in the recombinant strains, three samples (SZZJ20240513, SZTC20241133, SZTC20241129) exhibited a P7H3F3 genetic constituent, whereas four samples (SZZJ20240515, SZZJ20240516, SZCS20241240, SZCS20241242) displayed a P7H7F3 genetic constituent, which were in agreement with the results of BLAST analysis.
Fig. 4
Genome recombination analysis of the three representative recombinant strains (A-C) and reference strain NICED/23 − 01/1914 (D) by SimPlot software. The 29 whole genome sequences obtained in this study shared high homology in nucleotide sequence and recombination pattern. Thus, the bootscan analysis results of three representative recombinant strains SZTC20241129 (A), SZZJ20240513 (B) and SZZJ20240516 (C) were shown and the recombination patterns of the remaining recombinant strains resembled any one of the three strains above
Fig. 5
Phylogenetic analysis of potential recombinant regions of strain SZZJ20240513. The trees for the Region 1 (18,257 − 25,218 nucleotide location of SZZJ20240513), Region 2 (27,927 − 33,987 nucleotide location of SZZJ20240513) and Region 3 (25,219 − 27,926 nucleotide location of SZZJ20240513) were constructed by the maximum likelihood (ML) method using IQ-TREE v2.3.6. The HAdVB3 and HAdVB7 reference strains were colored in black and red, respectively. The corresponding fragments in the strain SZZJ20240513 was highlighted in bold and labeled with the red solid circle (). Numbers above branches indicate bootstrap values, with those greater than 70% were shown
Squire Patton Boggs has advised Do iT, a Toulouse-based specialist in electrical interconnection systems (EWIS) for the aerospace industry, and its shareholders in connection with (i) an investment by independent investment company Initiative & Finance and (ii) the concurrent acquisition of PMV Engineering (PMVE), an expert in aircraft modification engineering. The acquisition will create a leader in original equipment and aftermarket services to the aerospace industry.
The Squire Patton Boggs team advising Do iT and its shareholders was led by Corporate partner Arnaud Lafarge, assisted by associates Kevin Cosmao and Elise Crouzil.
Founded in 2020, Do iT is a fast-growing company with 200 employees in France and Canada. This acquisition is a major step in Do iT’s development strategy, with PMVE’s ability to offer complex aircraft modification solutions in avionics, cabin interiors, passenger entertainment systems, environmental control systems, exterior decoration and cargo conversions. PMVE works with renowned customers including aircraft manufacturers, leasing companies, airlines, equipment manufacturers and maintenance centres.
). Numbers above branches indicate bootstrap values, with those greater than 75% were shown
). Numbers above branches indicate bootstrap values, with those greater than 70% were shown