Identification of a Novel Adelie Penguin Circovirus at Cape Crozier (Ross Island, Antarctica).

ABSTRACT: Understanding the causes of disease in Antarctic wildlife is crucial, as many of these species are already threatened by environmental changes brought about by climate change. In recent years, Antarctic penguins have been showing signs of an unknown pathology: a feather disorder characterised by missing feathers, resulting in exposed skin. During the 2018-2019 austral summer breeding season at Cape Crozier colony on Ross Island, Antarctica, we observed for the first time an Adélie penguin chick missing down over most of its body. A guano sample was collected from the nest of the featherless chick, and using high-throughput sequencing, we identified a novel circovirus. Using abutting primers, we amplified the full genome, which we cloned and Sanger-sequenced to determine the complete genome

SUBMITTER: Morandini V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6950389 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature