Evidence of influenza a virus RNA in siberian lake ice.
Influenza A virus infects a large proportion of the human population annually, sometimes leading to the deaths of millions. The biotic cycles of infection are well characterized in the literature, including in studies of populations of humans, poultry, swine, and migratory waterfowl. However, there are few studies of abiotic reservoirs for this virus. Here, we report the preservation of influenza A virus genes in ice and water from high-latitude lakes that are visited by large numbers of migratory birds. The lakes are along the migratory flight paths of birds flying into Asia, North America, Europe, and Africa. The data suggest that influenza A virus, deposited as the birds begin their autumn migration, can be preserved in lake ice. As birds return in the spring, the ice melts, releasing the viruses. Therefore, temporal gene flow is facilitated between the viruses shed during the previous year and the viruses newly acquired by birds during winter months spent in the south. Above the Arctic Circle, the cycles of entrapment in the ice and release by melting can be variable in length, because some ice persists for several years, decades, or longer. This type of temporal gene flow might be a feature common to viruses that can survive entrapment in environmental ice and snow.
Zhang
Gang
G
Department of Biological Sciences, 217 Life Sciences Building, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403, USA.
Shoham
Dany
D
Gilichinsky
David
D
Davydov
Sergei
S
Castello
John D
JD
Rogers
Scott O
SO
D001483:Base Sequence; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D017931:DNA Primers; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000821:virology*; D046448:Ice Cover / Q000821:virology*; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012313:RNA / Q000235:genetics*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012621:Seasons; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012800:Siberia; D014871:Water Microbiology
D017931:DNA Primers; D012313:RNA