Detection of a Novel Gull-like Clade of Newcastle Disease Virus and H3N8 Avian Influenza Virus in the Arctic Region of Russia (Taimyr Peninsula)

TL;DR

Researchers discovered new viruses in Arctic waterbirds, including a gull-specific Newcastle disease virus and an H3N8 avian influenza virus, highlighting the role of migratory birds in virus spread.

Contribution

The first detection of Newcastle disease virus in Arctic Russia and identification of a novel gull-like clade of NDV.

Findings

A novel gull-like clade of Newcastle disease virus was identified in Herring gulls on the Taimyr Peninsula.

An H3N8 avian influenza virus isolate was found to be phylogenetically related to Eurasian and Siberian viruses from 2021-2023.

NDV sequences suggest potential adaptation to multiple host species, indicating broader host range than previously thought.

Abstract

Wild waterbirds are circulating important RNA viruses, such as avian coronaviruses, avian astroviruses, avian influenza viruses, and avian paramyxoviruses. Waterbird migration routes cover vast territories both within and between continents. The breeding grounds of many species are in the Arctic, but research into this region is rare. This study reports the first Newcastle disease virus (NDV) detection in Arctic Russia. As a result of a five-year study (from 2019 to 2023) of avian paramyxoviruses and avian influenza viruses in wild waterbirds of the Taimyr Peninsula, whole-genome sequences of NDV and H3N8 were obtained. The resulting influenza virus isolate was phylogenetically related to viruses that circulated between 2021 and 2023 in Eurasia, Siberia, and Asia. All NDV sequences were obtained from the Herring gull, and other gull sequences formed a separate gull-like clade in the sub-genotype I.1.2.1, Class II. This may indirectly indicate that different NDV variants adapt to more host species than is commonly believed. Further surveillance of other gull species may help to test the hypothesis of putative gull-specific NDV lineage and better understand their role in the evolution and global spread of NDV.

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