Disease relevance of Charadriiformes

• We present here the three-dimensional structure of neuraminidase (E.C. 3.2.1.18) from influenza virus A/Tern/Australia/G70c/75 (N9), determined by the method of multiple isomorphous replacement, and the structure of the neuraminidase complexed with an inhibitor, 2-deoxy-2,3-dehydro-N-acetyl neuraminic acid (DANA) [1].
• A total of 17 Newcastle disease viruses was isolated from ducks, noddies , terns and a black- fronted plover : preliminary results suggest that they are avirulent for domestic chickens [2].

High impact information on Charadriiformes

• We sequenced part of the mitochondrial control region and the cytochrome b gene in 72 specimens from 32 gull species (Laridae, Larini) and 2 outgroup representatives (terns: Laridae, Sternini) [3].
• Organochlorine-associated immunosuppression in prefledgling Caspian terns and herring gulls from the Great Lakes: an ecoepidemiological study [4].
• In 1992, altered White blood cell numbers were associated with elevated organochlorine concentrations in Caspian terns but not herring gulls [4].
• In Caspian terns and, to a lesser degree, in herring gulls, there was an exposure-response relationship between organochlorines and reduced plasma retinol (vitamin A) [4].
• The RAG-1 tree is topologically similar to the DNA hybridization tree in depicting three major subordinal clades of shorebirds, the Charadrii (thick-knees, sheathbills, plovers, oystercatchers, and allies), Scolopaci (sandpipers and jacanas) and the Lari (coursers, pratincoles, gulls, terns, skimmers, and skuas) [5].

Associations of Charadriiformes with chemical compounds

• However, the phylogeographic partition between Atlantic and Indo-Pacific rookeries in sooty terns mirrors, albeit in shallower evolutionary time, the major matrilineal subdivision in green turtles [6].
• The eggs of Barnegat Bay common terns show a decline in levels of cadmium, chromium, and lead [7].
• All the eggs, collected in Italy in 1982 and 1983, of two species of passerine birds, three gulls, four terns and the night heron, contained DDE and, with lower frequencies, other organochlorine contaminants [8].
• Lower yolksac retinoid- and plasma thyroid hormone levels, and a higher ratio of plasma retinol over yolksac retinoids correlated with later egg laying, prolonged incubation periods and smaller chicks and eggs.The dynamic environment of the terns had more obvious detrimental effects on breeding success than PHAHs [9].
• Blood samples were taken from breeding common terns (Sterna hirundo) of known age during two successive breeding seasons to determine if plasma concentrations of estradiol, progesterone, androgen, and luteinizing hormone (LH) reflect the process of aging [10].

Gene context of Charadriiformes

• PCB levels in blood of common terns (Sterna hirundo) from Terneuzen, a breeding colony in The Netherlands with relatively low breeding success, were significantly higher than in birds from two Dutch reference colonies, one nearby (Oesterdam) and one further away (the Isle of Griend) [11].
• Hepatic cytochrome P450 enzyme activity in pipped embryos of Forster's terns from the two colonies seemed unaffected by contaminants [12].
• Samples were collected from 13 localities on the Pacific coast and on offshore islands of Peru. Hosts recorded are the Peruvian Brown Pelican, Peruvian Booby, Blue-footed Booby, Red-legged Cormorant, Guanay Cormorant, and Inca Tern [13].
• Mercury and selenium levels in eggs of common terns (Sterna hirundo) from two breeding colonies in the Ebro Delta, Spain [14].

References