In July–August (JA) of 2016, northeastern China (NEC) suffered from the most severe hot drought event of the past 50 years, leading to profound impacts on agriculture, the ecosystem, and society. Results indicate that the loss of sea ice over the Barents Sea (SICBS) in March might have influenced the hot drought events over NEC in JA for the period of 1997–2016. Further analyses reveal that lower SICBS is closely related to thinner snow depth over western Eurasia (SDWEA) in April. The decline of SDWEA leads to drier soil from the Yangtze River valley to northern China during May–June, which is favorable for precipitation deficiency over NEC in JA. Besides, the loss of SICBS in March and decline of SDWEA in April are closely related to the polar–Eurasia teleconnection pattern and dry soil over NEC in JA, which provides favorable atmospheric circulation patterns for occurrences of hot droughts. The large ensemble simulations from the Community Earth System Model and the numerical experiments based on version 4 of the Community Atmosphere Model further confirmed their connections and the associated possible physical processes. Therefore, snow depth and soil moisture might serve as linkages between Barents Sea ice in March and hot droughts over NEC during JA, and the Barents Sea ice in March might be an important potential predictor for the summer hot droughts over NEC.

No abstract

Duck enteritis virus (DEV) is classified to the family Herpesviridae, but has not been grouped into any genus so far. Four overlapped fragments were amplified from the DEV genome with polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The assembled length of the four fragments was 6,202 bp, which contained the genes encoding unique long (UL) 24, thymidine kinase (TK) and glycoprotein H (gH) proteins. The UL24 overlapped with TK by 64 nucleotides (nt), in a head-to-head transcription orientation, and the TK and gH had the same transcription orientation. The comparison of amino acid sequences of these 3 deduced DEV proteins with other 12 alphaherpesviruses displayed 5 highly conserved sites in the UL24, as well as another 5 consensus regions in the TK and 4 consensus regions in the gH. The RNA polymerase II transcriptional control elements were identified in all the UL24, TK and gH of DEV. These elements included core promoters, TATA motifs and polyadenylation sites. Phylogenetic analysis for the genetic classification of DEV in the Alphaherpesvirinae subfamily with other 12 alphaherpesviruses was computed. The result showed that DEV was more closely related to avian herpesviruses, except infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV), than to other alphaherpesviruses. Conclusively, according to the phylogenesis-based analysis and the homology comparison of functional domains of UL24, TK and gH, DEV should be classified to a separate genus of the Alphaherpesvirinae subfamily in the family Herpesviridae.

In this study, we attenuated a Chinese LX4-type nephropathogenic infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) strain, CK/CH/LHLJ/04V, by serial passage in embryonated chicken eggs. Based on sequence analysis of the 3'-7kb region, the CK/CH/LHLJ/04V virus population contained subpopulations with a mixture of genetic mutants. The titers of the virus increased gradually during serial passage, but the replication capacity decreased in chickens. The virus was partially attenuated at passage 40 (P40) and P70, and was fully attenuated at P110. It lost immunogenicity and kidney tropism at P110 and P70, respectively. Amino acid substitutions were found in the 3'-7kb region, primarily in the spike (S) protein. Substitutions in the S1 subunit occurred between P3 and P40 and all subpopulations in a virus passage showed the same substitutions. Other substitutions that occurred between P70 and P110, however, were found only in some subpopulations of the virus passages. A 109-bp deletion in the 3'-UTR was observed in most subpopulations of P70 and P110, and might be related to virus replication, transcription and pathogenicity. The changes described in the 3'-7kb region of the virus are possibly responsible for virus attenuation, immunogenicity decrease and tissue tropism changes; however, we cannot exclude the possibility that other parts of the genome may also be involved in those changes.

No abstract

Objective: To monitor and study the molecular epidemiology, evolution and pathogenicity of infectious bronchitis viruses (IBVs) in China in recent years and further our knowledge of the evolution of IBVs. Methods: Thirty-seven IBV isolates were isolated from commercial chickens in China. The isolates were characterized by RT-PCR, sequencing, typing and analyzing the entire S1 gene. In addition, 4 selected IBV isolates were used to experimentally infect the specific pathogen-free chickens to study their pathogenicity. Results: Three types of IBV have been cocirculating in chicken flocks in China in recent years. Unique insertions and deletions in S1 protein regions were identified among different types of IBV. Moreover, a new IBV strain was isolated and identified in a layer hen. S1 gene analysis showed that a recombination event had occurred in the virus’s evolutionary process. In addition, experimental infection has shown that IBV isolates have been nephropathogenic in China in recent years. Conclusion: Mutations, insertions, deletions and recombination of the S1 protein gene contribute to the genetic diversity of IBV in China. Cocirculation of multiple types of IBV in field conditions in China renders its epidemiology and evolution very complicated, indicating the necessity for development of new vaccines or vaccine strategies.

Avian infectious bronchitis coronavirus (IBV) is a major poultry pathogen. A characteristic feature of IBV is the occurrence of many different strains belonging to different serotypes, which renders complete control of the disease by vaccination a challenging task due to the poor cross-protection between different serotypes. In this study, based on the results of S1 sequence analysis and virus cross-neutralization tests, IBV strain ck/CH/LGX/111119 was found to be genetically and antigenically different from other known IBV types, representing not only a novel genotype, but also a novel serotype (designated as GI-28). Viruses belonging to this novel serotype have been isolated from several regions in China in recent years, suggesting endemic circulation of the serotype in various geographic locations in China. Further studies by complete genomic analysis showed that strain ck/CH/LGX/111119 may have originated from recombination events involving LX4 genotype IBVs and an as-yet-unidentified IBV donating a S1 gene, or from the result of accumulation of mutations and selections, especially in the S1 gene, from a LX4 genotype virus. ck/CH/LGX/111119 is a nephropathogenic strain, although it had broader tissue tropism (respiratory, digestive, urinary, and reproductive tracts) among chickens challenged at one day old. Infection of the oviducts with ck/CH/LGX/111119 found in this study may have severe implications because the virus will likely induce the occurrence of false layers.

This study aims to provide an assessment of the effects of anthropogenic (ANT) forcings and other external factors on observed increases in extreme precipitation over China from 1961 to 2005. Extreme precipitation is represented by the annual maximum 1 day precipitation (RX1D) and the annual maximum 5 day consecutive precipitation (RX5D), and these variables are investigated using observations and simulations from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5. The analyses mainly focus on the probability‐based index (PI), which is derived from RX1D and RX5D by fitting generalized extreme value distributions. The results indicate that the simulations that include the ANT forcings provide the best representation of the spatial and temporal characteristics of extreme precipitation over China. We use the optimal fingerprint method to obtain the univariate and multivariate fingerprints of the responses to external forcings. The results show that only the ANT forcings are detectable at a 90% confidence level, both individually and when natural forcings are considered simultaneously. The impact of the forcing associated with greenhouse gases (GHGs) is also detectable in RX1D, but its effects cannot be separated from those of combinations of forcings that exclude the GHG forcings in the two‐signal analyses. Besides, the estimated changes of PI, extreme precipitation, and events with a 20 year return period under nonstationary climate states are potentially attributable to ANT or GHG forcings, and the relationships between extreme precipitation and temperature from ANT forcings show agreement with observations.