About the Authors

Bin Zhou

Affiliations J. Craig Venter Institute, Rockville, Maryland, United States of America, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York, United States of America, Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Public Health, State University of New York, Albany, New York, United States of America

Melissa B. Pearce

Affiliation Influenza Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America

Yan Li

Affiliation Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York, United States of America

Jieru Wang

Affiliation Department of Medicine, National Jewish Health, Denver, Colorado, United States of America

Robert J. Mason

Affiliation Department of Medicine, National Jewish Health, Denver, Colorado, United States of America

Terrence M. Tumpey

Affiliation Influenza Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America

David E. Wentworth

dwentworth@JCVI.org

Affiliations J. Craig Venter Institute, Rockville, Maryland, United States of America, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York, United States of America, Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Public Health, State University of New York, Albany, New York, United States of America

Competing Interests

Jieru Wang is a PLOS ONE Editorial Board member. This does not alter the authors' adherence to all the PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Author Contributions

Conceived and designed the experiments: BZ JW RJM TMT DEW . Performed the experiments: BZ YL JW MDP DEW . Analyzed the data: BZ MBP YL JW TMT DEW . Wrote the manuscript: BZ DEW. Review and critique of manuscript: BZ MBP YL JW RJM TMT DEW. Obtained funding: DEW. Performed experiments in cell lines and mice: BZ YL. Virus generation: BZ YL. Responsible for overall experimental design: DEW BZ. Drafted and revised manuscript: DEW BZ. Responsible for ferret studies: MBP. Responsible for primary alveolar epithelial cells: JW.