Influenza A Viruses from Wild Birds in Guatemala Belong to the North American Lineage

The role wild bird species play in the transmission and ecology of avian influenza virus (AIV) is well established; however, there are significant gaps in our understanding of the worldwide distribution of these viruses, specifically about the prevalence and/or significance of AIV in Central and South America. As part of an assessment of the ecology of AIV in Guatemala, we conducted active surveillance in wild birds on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. Cloacal and tracheal swab samples taken from resident and migratory wild birds were collected from February 2007 to January 2010.1913 samples were collected and virus was detected by real time RT-PCR (rRT-PCR) in 28 swab samples from ducks (Anas discors). Virus isolation was attempted for these positive samples, and 15 isolates were obtained from the migratory duck species Blue-winged teal. The subtypes identified included H7N9, H11N2, H3N8, H5N3, H8N4, and H5N4. Phylogenetic analysis of the viral sequences revealed that AIV isolates are highly similar to viruses from the North American lineage suggesting that bird migration dictates the ecology of these viruses in the Guatemalan bird population

La photographie aérienne à grande échelle : un outil pour l'analyse de la diversité en forêt guyanaise

We studied structural and diversity in two types characteristic of French Guiana - the mangrove and the dense forest on well drained soil. Large-scale aerial photographs in digital (black & white) and analogue (color slides) format, acquired at several altitudes ranging from 100 to 1500 meters, were used. In the mangrove (Marais Leblond), which has a poor floristic composition and undergoes continuous change, we focused on the structural diversity of the different stages in relation to ecosystem diversity. In the dense forest (Paracou), much richer in number of species, we focused on tree crown diversity in the canopy, linked to taxa diversity (species, genus, family). Through these two examples, mangrove and dense forest, large-scale aerial photographs were shown to be an effective tool in studying biodiversity in Guianese forests and in understanding how they function. The proposed methods, concerning photograph acquisition and analyses alike, should be implemental in defining policies for management and conservation of biodiversityNous abordons ici l'étude de la diversité structurale et floristique dans deux formations forestières caractéristiques de la Guyane française : la mangrove et la forêt dense sur sol drainé. Des photographies aériennes à grande échelle, numériques (noir et blanc) et analogiques (diapositives couleur), acquises à des altitudes variant de 1 00 à 1 500 m, ont été utilisées. Dans la mangrove (Marais Leblond), formation floristiquement simple et en évolution rapide, on s'est principalement attaché à l'étude de la diversité des faciès structuraux liée à la dynamique du milieu. Dans la forêt dense (Paracou), beaucoup plus riche en espèces, l'accent a été mis sur la diversité des couronnes d'arbres dans la canopée associée à la diversité des taxons (espèces, genres, familles). A travers ces deux exemples, mangrove et forêt dense, la photographie aérienne à grande échelle est apparue comme un outil performant pour la reconnaissance de la biodiversité des forêts guyanaises et l'aide à la compréhension de leur fonctionnement. Les méthodes mises en place, tant pour les aspects techniques d'acquisition des photographies que pour leur analyse, doivent permettre, à terme, de définir des stratégies de gestion et de conservation de cette biodiversité.Trichon Valérie, Guillemyn Daniel, Fromard François, Betoulle Jean-Luc, Puig Henri. La photographie aérienne à grande échelle : un outil pour l'analyse de la diversité en forêt guyanaise. In: Journal d'agriculture traditionnelle et de botanique appliquée, 40ᵉ année, bulletin n°1-2,1998. Conserver, gérer la biodiversité : quelle stratégie pour la Guyane ? sous la direction de Marie Fleury et Odile Poncy. pp. 405-421

Positive species for influenza type A by rRT-PCR and viral isolates obtained in this study.

*<p>Percentage of positive samples obtained by real-time RT-PCR (rRT-PCR) and Virus Isolation (VI) based on the total number of sampled birds.</p><p>N/D: Non-Determined.</p

Phylogenetic trees for internal gene segments PB2, PB1, and PA.

<p>All trees were generated in PAUP 4.0b10 using Neighbor-Joining method with 1000 bootstrap replicates (bootstrap values above 70% are shown). Scale bar on the bottom-left indicates number of nucleotide substitutions per site.</p

Genome constellations of AIVs obtained from wild birds in Guatemala.

<p>Nucleotide percent similarities are shown. The different colors represent different clades supported by bootstrap values >70%. *Isolate CIP049-01 was used as reference to estimate sequence percent similarities.</p

Phylogenetic trees for internal gene segments NP, M and NS.

<p>All trees were generated in PAUP 4.0b10 using Neighbor-Joining method with 1000 bootstrap replicates (bootstrap values above 70% are shown). Scale bar on the bottom-left indicates number of nucleotide substitutions per site.</p

Phylogenetic trees for N2 and N8 NA genes.

<p>Trees were generated in PAUP 4.0b10 using Neighbor-Joining method with 1000 bootstrap replicates (bootstrap values above 70% are shown). Scale bar on the bottom-left indicates number of nucleotide substitutions per site.</p

Phylogenetic trees for H3, H8 and H11 HA genes.

<p>Trees were generated in PAUP 4.0b10 using the Neighbor-Joining method with 1000 bootstrap replicates (bootstrap values above 70% are shown). Scale bar on the bottom-left indicates number of nucleotide substitutions per site.</p