Poxvirus infections have been found in 230 species of wild and domestic birds worldwide in both terrestrial and marine environments. This ubiquity raises the question of how infection has been transmitted and globally dispersed. We present a comprehensive global phylogeny of 111 novel poxvirus isolates in addition to all available sequences from GenBank. Phylogenetic analysis of the Avipoxvirus genus has traditionally relied on one gene region (4b core protein). In this study we expanded the analyses to include a second locus (DNA polymerase gene), allowing for a more robust phylogenetic framework, finer genetic resolution within specific groups, and the detection of potential recombination. Our phylogenetic results reveal several major features of avipoxvirus evolution and ecology and propose an updated avipoxvirus taxonomy, including three novel subclades. The characterization of poxviruses from 57 species of birds in this study extends the current knowledge of their host range and provides the first evidence of the phylogenetic effect of genetic recombination of avipoxviruses. The repeated occurrence of avian family or order-specific grouping within certain clades (e.g., starling poxvirus, falcon poxvirus, raptor poxvirus, etc.) indicates a marked role of host adaptation, while the sharing of poxvirus species within prey-predator systems emphasizes the capacity for crossspecies infection and limited host adaptation. Our study provides a broad and comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of the Avipoxvirus genus, an ecologically and environmentally important viral group, to formulate a genome sequencing strategy that will clarify avipoxvirus taxonomy.

The black yeast Exophiala dermatitidis is known as a rare etiologic agent of neurotropic infections in humans, occurring particularly in East and Southeast Asia. In search of its natural habitat, a large sampling was undertaken in temperate as well as in tropical climates. Sampling sites were selected on the basis of the origins of previously isolated strains, and on the basis of physiological properties of the species, which also determined a selective isolation protocol. The species was absent from outdoor environments in the temperate climate, but present at low abundance in comparable habitats in the tropics. Positive outdoor sites particularly included faeces of frugivorous birds and bats, in urban as well as in natural areas. Tropical fruits were found E. dermatitidis positive at low incidence. Of the human-made environments sampled, railway ties contaminated by human faeces and oily debris in the tropics were massively positive, while the known abundance of the fungus in steam baths was confirmed. On the basis of the species' oligotrophy, thermotolerance, acidotolerance, moderate osmotolerance, melanization and capsular yeast cells a natural life cycle in association with frugivorous animals in foci in the tropical rain forest, involving passage of living cells through the intestinal tract was hypothesized. The human-dominated environment may have become contaminated by ingestion of wild berries carrying fungal propagules

performed on frozen and on paraffin-embedded tissues (PET), respectively. From the frozen 5 samples a partial sequence of the putative USUV E and NS1 proteins (1229 bp) was 6 determined, whereas partial sequences of the putative NS3 (278 bp) and NS5 (159 bp) 7 proteins were obtained from PET. Additionally, one partial sequence (163 bp) of the putative 8 3'UTR region was determined from all samples. Sequencing of the amplification products 9 revealed 99.8 to 100% nucleotide identity of the Italian USUV strains to those from other 10 central European countries. 11 12

The ability to imitate complex sounds is rare, and among birds has been found only in parrots, songbirds, and hummingbirds. Parrots exhibit the most advanced vocal mimicry among non-human animals. A few studies have noted differences in connectivity, brain position and shape in the vocal learning systems of parrots relative to songbirds and hummingbirds. However, only one parrot species, the budgerigar, has been examined and no differences in the presence of song system structures were found with other avian vocal learners. Motivated by questions of whether there are important differences in the vocal systems of parrots relative to other vocal learners, we used specialized constitutive gene expression, singing-driven gene expression, and neural connectivity tracing experiments to further characterize the song system of budgerigars and/or other parrots. We found that the parrot brain uniquely contains a song system within a song system. The parrot “core” song system is similar to the song systems of songbirds and hummingbirds, whereas the “shell” song system is unique to parrots. The core with only rudimentary shell regions were found in the New Zealand kea, representing one of the only living species at a basal divergence with all other parrots, implying that parrots evolved vocal learning systems at least 29 million years ago. Relative size differences in the core and shell regions occur among species, which we suggest could be related to species differences in vocal and cognitive abilities.

We report an outbreak of cowpox virus among monkeys at a sanctuary for exotic animals. Serologic analysis and polymerase chain reaction were performed on blood and swab samples from different rodent species trapped at the sanctuary during the outbreak. Sequence comparison and serologic results showed that brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) transmitted the virus to monkeys.

The aim of the study was to characterize atherosclerotic changes in African grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus) and Amazon parrots (Amazona spp.) by histochemical and immunohistochemical methods. Samples of the aorta ascendens and trunci brachiocephalici from 62 African grey parrots and 35 Amazon parrots were stained by hematoxylin and eosin and Elastica van Gieson for grading of atherosclerosis in these birds. Four different stages were differentiated. The incidence of atherosclerosis in the examined parrots was 91.9% in African grey parrots and 91.4% in Amazon parrots. To evaluate the pathogenesis in birds, immunohistochemical methods were performed to demonstrate lymphocytes, macrophages, smooth muscle cells, and chondroitin sulfate. According to the missing lymphocytes and macrophages and the absence of invasion and proliferation of smooth muscle cells in each atherosclerotic stage, "response-to-injury hypothesis" seems inapplicable in parrots. Additionally, we found alterations of vitally important organs (heart, lungs) significantly correlated with atherosclerosis of the aorta ascendens.

Recently a novel avian bornavirus has been described that has been suggested to be the possible etiological agent for proventricular dilatation disease or macaw wasting disease. This article describes two macaws that shed avian bornaviral RNA sequences and demonstrated anti-avian bornavirus antibodies as revealed by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and Western blot, yet are free of outward clinical signs of the disease.

Ferritin is the iron-storage protein responsible for sequestering excess iron, to be stored in a safe way in the liver or to be shed with the intestinal epithelial cells. The properties of ferritin in iron-overload-susceptible birds have not been elucidated. Furthermore, there is only scarce information on mucosal ferritin, with no information at all in avian species. Here we have studied the liver and proximal intestine ferritins of iron-overload-susceptible (Indian hill mynahs, common mynahs) and non-susceptible (turtledoves, chicken) bird species. A brief purification process preceded native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and staining the gels for protein and iron. Protein amounts and iron-binding characteristics of ferritin were measured and ferritin saturation levels were calculated. Although ferritin protein amounts did not differ significantly, liver and mucosal ferritins of sensitive bird species incorporated much more iron, leading to high saturation levels. Significantly higher ferritin iron content and saturation were observed in the liver of both mynah species and in the intestinal ferritin of Indian hill mynahs when compared with the non-susceptible species. Ferritin appears not to play a major role in the regulation of iron absorption, implicating other phases in iron transport to be more important in the onset and process of iron overload in birds.