@article{815a6a44803e4d1aab0b129f7e5e735a,
title = "Circoviruses and cycloviruses identified in Weddell seal fecal samples from McMurdo Sound, Antarctica",
abstract = "Circoviridae is a family of circular single-stranded DNA viruses whose members infect a wide variety of hosts. While well characterized in avian and mammalian hosts, little is known about circoviruses associated with Antarctic animals. From 48 Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellii) fecal samples collected on the sea ice in McMurdo between Nov 2014 and Dec 2014, we identified and determined the genomes of novel viruses that fall within two genera of the family Circoviridae, i.e. Circovirus (n = 7) and Cyclovirus (n = 45). We named these viruses as werosea circovirus (WerCV) and werosea cyclovirus (WerCyV). The genomes of WerCV and WerCyV share ~63–64% genome-wide pairwise identity with classified circoviruses and cycloviruses, respectively. Based on the species demarcation threshold of 80% for members of the Circoviridae, the genomes of WerCV and WerCyV represent new species in their respective genera. Evidence indicated recombination in five of the 45 WerCyV genomes identified in this study. These are the first circoviruses found associated with Antarctic pinnipeds, adding to those recently identified associated with Ad{\'e}lie (Pygoscelis adeliae) and chinstrap penguins (P. antarcticus).",
keywords = "Circoviridae, Pinnipeds, Weddell seals, ssDNA virus",
author = "Patterson, {Quinn M.} and Simona Kraberger and Martin, {Darren P.} and Shero, {Michelle R.} and Beltran, {Roxanne S.} and Kirkham, {Amy L.} and Maketalena Aleamotu'a and Ainley, {David G.} and Stacy Kim and Burns, {Jennifer M.} and Arvind Varsani",
note = "Funding Information: All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. Weddell seal samples were collected under National Marine Fisheries Service Marine Mammal permit #17411, Antarctic Conservation Act permit #2014–003, and University of Alaska Anchorage's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee approval #419971, with funding from the National Science Foundation grant ANT-1246463 to Jennifer M Burns. Funding Information: David G Ainley is supported by the US National Science Foundation (NSF; ANT-0944411). Arvind is supported by the US National Science Foundation (NSF; ANT-1935870, ANT-1947040) All the samples were collected with logistics supplied from the US Antarctic Program. Stacy Kim was supported by NSF ANT-0944747. Jennifer Burns and Michelle Shero were supported by the US National Science Foundation (NSF; ANT-1246463). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Amy Kirkham and Roxanne Beltran were supported by Institutional Development Awards (IDeA) Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence Assistantships (grant number P20GM103395) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health . The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the official views of the NIH. All the wet bench molecular work and sequencing was supported by philanthropic funds from Arvind Varsani. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021",
year = "2021",
month = nov,
doi = "10.1016/j.meegid.2021.105070",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "95",
journal = "Infection, Genetics and Evolution",
issn = "1567-1348",
publisher = "Elsevier",
}