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Reassortment of American and Eurasian genes in an influenza A virus isolated from a great black-backed gull (Larus marinus), a species demonstrated to move between these regions

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Abstract

The primary hosts for influenza A viruses are waterfowl, although gulls and shorebirds are also important in global avian influenza dynamics. Avian influenza virus genes are separated phylogenetically into two geographic clades, American and Eurasian, which is caused by the geographic separation of the host species between these two regions. We surveyed a gregarious and cosmopolitan species, the Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus), in Newfoundland, Canada, for the presence of avian influenza viruses. We have isolated and determined the complete genome sequence of an H13N2 virus, A/Great Black-backed Gull/Newfoundland/296/2008(H13N2), from one of these birds. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that this virus contained two genes in the American gull clade (PB1, HA), two genes in the American avian clade (PA, NA), and four genes in the Eurasian gull clade (PB2, NP, M, NS). We analyzed bird band recovery information and found the first evidence of trans-Atlantic migration from Newfoundland to Europe (UK, Spain and Portugal) for this species. Thus, great black-backed gulls could be important for movement of avian influenza viruses across the Atlantic Ocean and within North America.

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Acknowledgments

We thank P. Ryan, A. Granter, C. Keane and A. Blundon for assistance with sample collection and processing, the Environment Canada Banding Office and C. du Feu from EURING for assistance with bird banding and band recovery data, and G. Humphries for assistance with GIS-based data visualization. Support for this work was received from the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Natural Resources and the Strategic Applications of Genomics in the Environment (STAGE) program at Environment Canada. MW was supported by a CGS-M fellowship from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and a merit fellowship from Memorial University. Research in ASL’s lab is supported by grants from NSERC, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, and the Industrial Research and Innovation Fund from the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada

    Michelle Wille & Andrew S. Lang

  2. Wildlife Research Division, Environment Canada, Mount Pearl, NL, A1N 4T3, Canada

    Gregory J. Robertson

  3. Animal Health Division, Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Natural Resources, St. John’s, NL, A1E 3Y5, Canada

    Hugh Whitney

  4. Animal Health Laboratory, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada

    Davor Ojkic

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  1. Michelle Wille
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  4. Davor Ojkic
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  5. Andrew S. Lang
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Correspondence to Andrew S. Lang.

Additional information

Nucleotide sequence data reported are available in the GenBank database under the accession numbers: GU724150–GU724157.

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Wille, M., Robertson, G.J., Whitney, H. et al. Reassortment of American and Eurasian genes in an influenza A virus isolated from a great black-backed gull (Larus marinus), a species demonstrated to move between these regions. Arch Virol 156, 107–115 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-010-0839-1

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