Phylogenetic Analysis of Buggy Creek Virus: Evidence for Multiple Clades in the Western Great Plains, United States of America

ABSTRACT We present the first detailed phylogenetic analysis of Buggy Creek virus (BCRV), a poorly known alphavirus with transmission cycles involving a cimicid swallow bug (Oeciacus vicarius) vector and cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) and house sparrows (Passer domesticus) as the principal avian hosts. Nucleotide sequences of a 2,075-bp viral envelope glycoprotein-coding region, covering the entire PE2 gene, were determined for 33 BCRV isolates taken from swallow bugs at cliff swallow colonies in Nebraska and Colorado in the summer of 2001 and were compared with the corresponding region of BCRV isolates collected from Oklahoma in the 1980s. We also analyzed isolates of the closely related Fort Morgan virus (FMV) collected from Colorado in the 1970s. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that BCRV falls into the western equine encephalomyelitis complex of alphaviruses, in agreement with antigenic results and a previous alphavirus phylogeny based on the E1 coding region. We found four distinct BCRV/FMV clades, one each unique to Nebraska, Colorado, and Oklahoma and one containing isolates from both Nebraska and Colorado. BCRV isolates within the two clades from Nebraska showed 5.7 to 6.2% nucleotide divergence and 0.7 to 1.9% amino acid divergence, and within these clades, we found multiple subclades. Nebraska subclades tended to be confined to one or a few cliff swallow colonies that were close to each other in space, although in some cases, near-identical isolates were detected at sites up to 123 km apart. Viral gene flow occurs when cliff swallows move (bugs) between colony sites, and the genetic structure of BCRV may reflect the limited dispersal abilities of its insect vector.

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Phylogeographical structure and evolutionary history of two Buggy Creek virus lineages in the western Great Plains of North America

Journal of General Virology ◽

10.1099/vir.0.2008/001719-0 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 89 (9) ◽

pp. 2122-2131 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Abinash Padhi ◽

Amy T. Moore ◽

Mary Bomberger Brown ◽

Jerome E. Foster ◽

Martin Pfeffer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

North America ◽

Great Plains ◽

Population Decline ◽

Passer Domesticus ◽

The Other ◽

Northern Great Plains ◽

Coding Region ◽

Temperate Latitude ◽

Western Great Plains ◽

Western Equine Encephalitis

Buggy Creek virus (BCRV) is an unusual arbovirus within the western equine encephalitis complex of alphaviruses. Associated with cimicid swallow bugs (Oeciacus vicarius) as its vector and the cliff swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) and house sparrow (Passer domesticus) as its amplifying hosts, this virus is found primarily in the western Great Plains of North America at spatially discrete swallow nesting colonies. For 342 isolates collected in Oklahoma, Nebraska, Colorado and North Dakota, from 1974 to 2007, we sequenced a 2076 bp region of the 26S subgenomic RNA structural glycoprotein coding region, and analysed phylogenetic relationships, rates of evolution, demographical histories and temporal genetic structure of the two BCRV lineages found in the Great Plains. The two lineages showed distinct phylogeographical structure: one lineage was found in the southern Great Plains and the other in the northern Great Plains, and both occurred in Nebraska and Colorado. Within each lineage, there was additional latitudinal division into three distinct sublineages. One lineage is showing a long-term population decline. In comparing sequences taken from the same sites 8–30 years apart, in one case one lineage had been replaced by the other, and in the other cases there was little evidence of the same haplotypes persisting over time. The evolutionary rate of BCRV is in the order of 1.6–3.6×10−4 substitutions per site per year, similar to that estimated for other temperate-latitude alphaviruses. The phylogeography and evolution of BCRV could be better understood once we determine the nature of the ecological differences between the lineages.

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Ectoparasitism shortens the breeding season in a colonial bird

Royal Society Open Science ◽

10.1098/rsos.140508 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 140508 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Charles R. Brown ◽

Mary Bomberger Brown

Keyword(s):

Breeding Season ◽

Great Plains ◽

Blood Feeding ◽

Temperate Latitude ◽

Cliff Swallow ◽

Colonial Bird ◽

Migratory Songbird ◽

Colony Site ◽

Western Great Plains ◽

Oeciacus Vicarius

When blood-feeding parasites increase seasonally, their deleterious effects may prevent some host species, especially those living in large groups where parasites are numerous, from reproducing later in the summer. Yet the role of parasites in regulating the length of a host's breeding season—and thus the host's opportunity for multiple brooding—has not been systematically investigated. The highly colonial cliff swallow ( Petrochelidon pyrrhonota ), a temperate-latitude migratory songbird in the western Great Plains, USA, typically has a relatively short (eight to nine week) breeding season, with birds rarely nesting late in the summer. Colonies at which ectoparasitic swallow bugs ( Oeciacus vicarius ) were experimentally removed by fumigation were over 45 times more likely to have birds undertake a second round of nesting than were colonies exposed to parasites. Late nesting approximately doubled the length of the breeding season, with some birds raising two broods. Over a 27 year period the percentage of birds engaging in late nesting each year increased at a colony site where parasites were removed annually. This trend could not be explained by changes in group size, climate or nesting phenology during the study. The results suggest that ectoparasitism shortens the cliff swallow's breeding season and probably prevents many individuals from multiple brooding. When this constraint is removed, selection may rapidly favour late nesting.

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Diverse Management Strategies Produce Similar Ecological Outcomes on Ranches in Western Great Plains: Social-Ecological Assessment

Rangeland Ecology & Management ◽

10.1016/j.rama.2017.08.001 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 71 (5) ◽

pp. 626-636 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Hailey Wilmer ◽

David J. Augustine ◽

Justin D. Derner ◽

María E. Fernández-Giménez ◽

David D. Briske ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Great Plains ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Ecological Assessment ◽

Social Ecological ◽

Western Great Plains

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Distribution of Gaseous 12CO2, 13CO2, and 14CO2 in the Sub-Soil Unsaturated Zone of the Western US Great Plains

Radiocarbon ◽

10.1017/s0033822200005622 ◽

1983 ◽

Vol 25 (2) ◽

pp. 315-346 ◽

Cited By ~ 49

Author(s):

D C Thorstenson ◽

E P Weeks ◽

Herbert Haas ◽

D W Fisher

Keyword(s):

Great Plains ◽

Land Surface ◽

Unsaturated Zone ◽

Diffusion Theory ◽

The United States ◽

Atmospheric Gases ◽

Sources And Sinks ◽

Western Us ◽

Partial Pressures ◽

Western Great Plains

Data on the depth distribution of the major atmospheric gases and the abundance of gaseous 12CO2, 13CO2, and 14CO2 in the subsoil unsaturated zone have been obtained from several sites in the western Great Plains of the United States. Sample profiles range from land surface to depths of 50m. Although each site must be considered on an individual basis, several general statements can be made regarding the profiles. 1) Diffusion of these gaseous molecules through the unsaturated zone is an important transport mechanism. 2) As predicted by diffusion theory, depth profiles of the various isotopic species of CO2 differ substantially from one another, depending on individual sources and sinks such as root respiration and oxidation of organic carbon at depth. 3) In general, post-bomb (> 100% modern) 14C activities are not observed in the deep unsaturated zone, in contrast to diffusion model predictions. 4) In spite of generally decreasing 14C activities with depth, absolute partial pressures of 14CO2 in the subsoil unsaturated zone are 1–2 orders of magnitude higher than the partial pressure of 14CO2 in the atmosphere.

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Disturbance and Fish Communities in Intermittent Tributaries of a Western Great Plains River

Copeia ◽

10.2307/1446392 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 1991 (3) ◽

pp. 659 ◽

Cited By ~ 75

Author(s):

Kurt D. Fausch ◽

Robert G. Bramblett

Keyword(s):

Great Plains ◽

Fish Communities ◽

Western Great Plains

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Land Use and Family Formation in the Settlement of the US Great Plains

Social Science History ◽

10.1017/s0145553200011834 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 36 (3) ◽

pp. 279-310 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Myron P. Gutmann ◽

Sara M. Pullum-Piñón ◽

Kristine Witkowski ◽

Glenn D. Deane ◽

Emily Merchant

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Great Plains ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Family Formation ◽

Descriptive Analysis ◽

The United States ◽

Level Data ◽

The Us ◽

Intensive Cropping ◽

Western Great Plains

In agricultural settings, environment shapes patterns of settlement and land use. Using the Great Plains of the United States during the period of its initial Euro-American settlement (1880–1940) as an analytic lens, this article explores whether the same environmental factors that determine settlement timing and land use—those that indicate suitability for crop-based agriculture—also shape initial family formation, resulting in fewer and smaller families in areas that are more conducive to livestock raising than to cropping. The connection between family size and agricultural land availability is now well known, but the role of the environment has not previously been explicitly tested. Descriptive analysis offers initial support for a distinctive pattern of family formation in the western Great Plains, where precipitation is too low to support intensive cropping. However, multivariate analysis using county-level data at 10-year intervals offers only partial support to the hypothesis that environmental characteristics produce these differences. Rather, this analysis has found that the region was also subject to the same long-term social and demographic changes sweeping the rest of the country during this period.

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Ecology and Management of the Western Bean Cutworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Corn and Dry Beans—Revision With Focus on the Great Lakes Region

Journal of Integrated Pest Management ◽

10.1093/jipm/pmz025 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Jocelyn L Smith ◽

Christina D Difonzo ◽

Tracey S Baute ◽

Andrew P Michel ◽

Christian H Krupke

Keyword(s):

Great Lakes ◽

Great Plains ◽

Geographic Range ◽

Economic Damage ◽

Great Lakes Region ◽

Dry Beans ◽

Eastern Canada ◽

New Information ◽

Western Bean Cutworm ◽

Western Great Plains

Abstract The western bean cutworm, Striacosta albicosta (Smith) is a native North American pest of corn and dry beans. The historical geographic range of the western bean cutworm covered the western Great Plains states including Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming. Since 1999, the geographic range of the western bean cutworm has rapidly expanded eastward across the U.S. Corn Belt and eastern Canada, causing significant and economic damage to corn Zea mays (L.) and dry edible beans Phaseolus spp., in parts of this region. Since 2010, increasing challenges related to managing this pest in its new range prompted numerous research studies that provided new insights into the biology and management of western bean cutworm. This revision of a previous Journal of IPM profile summarizes new information regarding the ecology and biology of western bean cutworm, and discusses updated recommendations for scouting and management in corn and dry beans, with an emphasis in the expanded geographic range of the Great Lakes region.

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Genetic characterization of a Marek’s disease virus strain isolated in Japan

Virology Journal ◽

10.1186/s12985-020-01456-1 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Shiro Murata ◽

Yuka Machida ◽

Masayoshi Isezaki ◽

Naoya Maekawa ◽

Tomohiro Okagawa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Phylogenetic Analysis ◽

Disease Virus ◽

Genomic Sequence ◽

Marek's Disease Virus ◽

Marek's Disease ◽

Marek’S Disease Virus ◽

Marek’S Disease ◽

Coding Region ◽

Japanese Strain ◽

Genetic Characteristics

Abstract Background Marek’s disease virus (MDV) causes malignant lymphomas in chickens (Marek’s disease, MD). MD is currently controlled by vaccination; however, MDV strains have a tendency to develop increased virulence. Distinct diversity and point mutations are present in the Meq proteins, the oncoproteins of MDV, suggesting that changes in protein function induced by amino acid substitutions might affect MDV virulence. We previously reported that recent MDV isolates in Japan display distinct mutations in Meq proteins from those observed in traditional MDV isolates in Japan, but similar to those in MDV strains isolated from other countries. Methods To further investigate the genetic characteristics in Japanese field strains, we sequenced the whole genome of an MDV strain that was successfully isolated from a chicken with MD in Japan. A phylogenetic analysis of the meq gene was also performed. Results Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the Meq proteins in most of the Japanese isolates were similar to those of Chinese and European strains, and the genomic sequence of the Japanese strain was classified into the Eurasian cluster. Comparison of coding region sequences among the Japanese strain and MDV strains from other countries revealed that the genetic characteristics of the Japanese strain were similar to those of Chinese and European strains. Conclusions The MDV strains distributed in Asian and European countries including Japan seem to be genetically closer to each other than to MDV strains from North America. These findings indicate that the genetic diversities of MDV strains that emerged may have been dependent on the different vaccination-based control approaches.

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Studies on the Distribution and Forecasting of Hail in Western United States *

Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society ◽

10.1175/1520-0477-32.4.119 ◽

1951 ◽

Vol 32 (4) ◽

pp. 119-131 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

H. T. Harrison ◽

W. B. Beckwith

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Great Plains ◽

Metropolitan Area ◽

Rocky Mountains ◽

Rio Grande ◽

Western United States ◽

Airborne Radar ◽

Relative Area ◽

Satisfactory Method ◽

Western Great Plains

The highest hail-thunderstorm ratio in the country is found over the western Great Plains and the east slope of the Rocky Mountains in a band extending from the Rio Grande northward to the Canadian border. Point frequency of hail over western United States is of little value in determining relative area exposures to hail. Frequency of hail in a metropolitan area such as Denver is at least ten times as great as random point frequency within that area. Hail probably occurs aloft during the growing stage of each thunderstorm which forms in the Denver Section. Hail is predominantly a post-coldfrontal phenomenon at Denver, but no satisfactory method has been found so far of predicting damaging hail. Airborne radar storm detection equipment offers the greatest hope of avoiding damaging hail in flight.

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