Identification of Circovirus Genome in a Chinstrap Penguin (Pygoscelis antarcticus) and Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) on the Antarctic Peninsula

Abstract

Circoviruses infect a variety of animal species and have small (~1.8–2.2 kb) circular single-stranded DNA genomes. Recently a penguin circovirus (PenCV) was identified associated with an Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) with feather disorder and in the cloacal swabs of three asymptomatic Adélie Penguins at Cape Crozier, Antarctica. A total of 75 cloacal swab samples obtained from adults and chicks of three species of penguin (genus: Pygoscelis) from seven Antarctic breeding colonies (South Shetland Islands and Western Antarctic Peninsula) in the 2015−2016 breeding season were screened for PenCV. We identified new variants of PenCV in one Adélie Penguin and one Chinstrap Penguin (Pygoscelis antarcticus) from Port Charcot, Booth Island, Western Antarctic Peninsula, a site home to all three species of Pygoscelid penguins. These two PenCV genomes (length of 1986 nucleotides) share > 99% genome-wide nucleotide identity with each other and share ~87% genome-wide nucleotide identity with the PenCV sequences described from Adélie Penguins at Cape Crozier ~4400 km away in East Antarctica. We did not find any evidence of recombination among PenCV sequences. This is the first report of PenCV in Chinstrap Penguins and the first detection outside of Ross Island, East Antarctica. Given the limited knowledge on Antarctic animal viral diversity, future samples from Antarctic wildlife should be screened for these and other viruses to determine the prevalence and potential impact of viral infections.

Identification and Distribution of Novel Cressdnaviruses and Circular Molecules in Four Penguin Species in South Georgia and the Antarctic Peninsula

“…AntCM8 genotype II was unique in this study as being the only genotype found in two distinct host species: An adult Gentoo Penguin and two adult Chinstrap Penguins nesting at the same colony on Booth Island, with >99.9% shared genome-wide identity. One of these adult Chinstrap Penguins was recently found also to carry a penguin circovirus [46]. Three species (each as a single genotype) of Antarctic circular molecules that encode Reps (AntCM10-12) were identified in this sample set, all from a single Chinstrap colony in the South Shetland Islands, where two genotypes, those which only contain a rep gene (rep: 963-1335 nts), were found in multiple individuals.…”

“…The phylum Cressdnaviricota includes seven viral families (Bacilladnaviridae, Circoviridae, Geminiviridae, Genomoviridae, Nanoviridae, Redondoviridae and Smacoviridae), the Reps of the satellite nucleic acids in the family Alphasatellitidae, and a suite of viral groups that have been loosely labeled CRESS DNA viruses. Within these named viral families in the order Cressdnaviricota, only two Penguin circovirus genomes (family Circoviridae) had previously been recovered from this same sample set, found in a Chinstrap Penguin and an Adélie Penguin [46]. CRESS DNA viruses that cannot be classified into the eight families above have been identified primarily through viral metagenomic approaches from a variety of samples, including animal tissues, as highlighted in the recent report by Tisza et al [47], fecal samples [48][49][50] and environmental samples including plant leaves [51], soil [52], wastewater [53][54][55], seawater [56], freshwater [57], and sea spray [58].…”

“…CRESS DNA viruses that cannot be classified into the eight families above have been identified primarily through viral metagenomic approaches from a variety of samples, including animal tissues, as highlighted in the recent report by Tisza et al [47], fecal samples [48][49][50] and environmental samples including plant leaves [51], soil [52], wastewater [53][54][55], seawater [56], freshwater [57], and sea spray [58]. In Antarctica, CRESS DNA viruses have been identified from cryoconite samples from the dry valley [26], Adélie and Chinstrap penguin fecal and cloacal swab samples [46,59], lake samples [17], and a pond sample [22].…”

Characterization of Canine Influenza Virus A (H3N2) Circulating in Dogs in China from 2016 to 2018

“…Among them are common viruses belonging to 16 HA (H1-H16) and 9 NA (N1-N9) serotypes [4,5]. Occasionally, avian influenza viruses can cross the species barrier and acquire the ability to infect other animals, including swine [6], equines [7], seals [8], dogs [9], wild and domestic cats [10], civets [11], nonhuman primates [12], chinstrap penguins [13], martens, and humans [14][15][16]. Some biological factors, such as the host cell receptor (sialic acid) and its linkages, play critical roles in cross-species transmission [17].…”

Special Issue “Emerging Viruses 2020: Surveillance, Prevention, Evolution and Control”

“…Circoviruses, which are small, circular, single-stranded DNA-bearing viruses, have been identified in penguins, and a penguin circovirus (PenCV) has been described in the past. In their article, Levy et al [ 20 ] visited seven Antarctic breeding colonies in different regions of Antarctica and collected 75 cloacal swab samples from adults and chicks of three species of penguins. Samples were screened for PenCV DNA, and two new genetic variants were identified: one in an Adélie Penguin ( Pygoscelis adeliae ) and another in a Chinstrap Penguin ( Pygoscelis antarcticus ).…”