Pingu virus: A new picornavirus in penguins from Antarctica

Abstract Picornaviridae family comprises single-stranded, positive-sense RNA viruses distributed into forty-seven genera. Picornaviruses have a broad host range and geographic distribution in all continents. In this study, we applied a high-throughput sequencing approach to examine the presence of p...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Virus Evolution
Main Authors: de Souza, William Marciel, Fumagalli, Marcílio Jorge, Martin, Matheus Cavalheiro, de Araujo, Jansen, Orsi, Maria Angela, Sanfilippo, Luiz Francisco, Modha, Sejal, Durigon, Edison Luiz, Proença-Módena, José Luiz, Arns, Clarice Weis, Murcia, Pablo Ramiro, Figueiredo, Luiz Tadeu Moraes
Other Authors: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo, Brazil, Medical Research Council of the UK
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Oxford University Press (OUP) 2019
Subjects:
Antarc*
Antarctica
antarcticus
King George Island
Pygoscelis adeliae
Pygoscelis papua
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ve/vez047
http://academic.oup.com/ve/article-pdf/5/2/vez047/31507077/vez047.pdf
Description
Summary:Abstract Picornaviridae family comprises single-stranded, positive-sense RNA viruses distributed into forty-seven genera. Picornaviruses have a broad host range and geographic distribution in all continents. In this study, we applied a high-throughput sequencing approach to examine the presence of picornaviruses in penguins from King George Island, Antarctica. We discovered and characterized a novel picornavirus from cloacal swab samples of gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua), which we tentatively named Pingu virus. Also, using RT-PCR we detected this virus in 12.9 per cent of cloacal swabs derived from P. papua, but not in samples from adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) or chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarcticus). Attempts to isolate the virus in a chicken cell line and in embryonated chicken eggs were unsuccessful. Our results expand the viral diversity, host range, and geographical distribution of the Picornaviridae.

Similar Items