Substantial viral diversity in Antarctic penguins and their ticks: no evidence for low pathogen pressure

• Main Authors: 3rd World Seabird Conference 2021, Wille, Michelle
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Underline Science Inc. 2021
• Subjects: Epidemiology; Ecology; FOS Biological sciences; Ecosystem; Parasitology; Antarctic; The Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; Gonzalez; Antarc*; Antarctica; Pygoscelis adeliae; Pygoscelis antarctica; Pygoscelis papua
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.48448/ysah-rj09; https://underline.io/lecture/34594-substantial-viral-diversity-in-antarctic-penguins-and-their-ticks-no-evidence-for-low-pathogen-pressure

Abstract: Despite its isolation and extreme climate, Antarctica is home to a diversity of fauna and associated microorganisms, including viruses, parasites, and even antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. It has previously been proposed that perhaps the most iconic Antarctic animal, the penguin, experiences low pathogen pressure, accounting for their susceptibility to disease when exposed to foreign environments. Climate-driven and anthropogenically assisted virus emergence in Antarctica is therefore of considerable concern. At present, however, there is little understanding of the diversity and abundance of viruses currently found in Antarctica, the ecological factors that shape this diversity, nor how it relates to that seen in other geographic regions. As a means to test the hypothesis of low pathogen pressure, we determined the viromes of three species of penguins and their ticks sampled on the Antarctic peninsula: Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae), Chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarctica) and Gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua) and the seabird tick (Ixodes uriae). Using total RNA-Sequencing (meta-transcriptomics) we identified 107 viral species, comprising penguin viruses (n=18), penguin diet and microbiome associated viruses (n=82), tick viruses (n=4) and tick transmitted arboviruses (n=2), with Adélie and Chinstrap penguins harbouring more virome diversity than Gentoo penguins. Strikingly, the level of virome diversity revealed in penguins is comparable to that see in Australian shorebirds and ducks, including the detection of many of the same viral families, and rejects the notion that penguins are subject to lower pathogen pressure. Furthermore, through the detection of previously detected viruses in penguins (Influenza A virus and Avian Avulavirus 17) we suggest that Antarctic penguins are not only spill-over hosts, but key reservoir hosts for viruses, including a number of arthropod-borne viruses (Gavier and Fennes virus). We suggest that additional sampling and continued improvement of sampling strategies will reveal an increasing diversity of viruses in Antarctic wildlife. Authors: Michelle Wille¹, Michelle Wille², Mang Shi², Daniel Gonzalez-Acuna³, Edward Holmes², Aeron Hurt¹ ¹WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza, ²Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases, University of Sydney, ³Universidad de Concepcion, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias