Identification of a distinct lineage of aviadenovirus from crane feces

Viruses are believed to be ubiquitous; however, the diversity of viruses is largely unknown because of the bias of previous research toward pathogenic viruses. Deep sequencing is a promising and unbiased approach to detect viruses from animal-derived materials. Although cranes are known to be infected by several viruses such as influenza A viruses, previous studies targeted limited species of viruses, and thus viruses that infect cranes have not been extensively studied. In this study, we collected crane fecal samples in the Izumi plain in Japan, which is an overwintering site for cranes, and performed metagenomic shotgun sequencing analyses. We detected aviadenovirus-like sequences in the fecal samples and tentatively named the discovered virus crane-associated adenovirus 1 (CrAdV-1). We determined that our sequence accounted for approximately three-fourths of the estimated CrAdV-1 genome size (33,245 bp). The GC content of CrAdV-1 genome is 34.1%, which is considerably lower than that of other aviadenoviruses. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that CrAdV-1 clusters with members of the genus Aviadenovirus, but is distantly related to the previously identified aviadenoviruses. The protein sequence divergence between the DNA polymerase of CrAdV-1 and those of other aviadenoviruses is 45.2–46.8%. Based on these results and the species demarcation for the family Adenoviridae, we propose that CrAdV-1 be classified as a new species in the genus Aviadenovirus. Results of this study contribute to a deeper understanding of the diversity and evolution of viruses and provide additional information on viruses that infect cranes, which might lead to protection of the endangered species of cranes.

     

Different localizations of drugs simultaneously administered in a strand of hair by micro‐segmental analysis

Segmental hair analysis is used to estimate the time of drug intake at monthly precision in drug‐related crimes. Previously, we advanced this analytical method to specify the day of drug intake by cutting a strand of hair into 0.4‐mm segments, which correspond to daily hair growth. Herein, we investigated the distributions of 7 compounds in a strand of hair using micro‐segmental analysis. Several strands of hair were collected 33.1?229.4 days after subjects were administered 4 pharmaceutical products that contained 10 drugs in single doses within 32 hours. The administered drugs and resulting metabolites were extracted from 0.4‐mm hair segments and quantified using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Acidic and neutral compounds were detected at low amounts in any of the hair segments analyzed. Epinastine, fexofenadine, dihydrocodeine, chlorpheniramine, and the chlorpheniramine metabolite, desmethylchlorpheniramine each was localized to 2 regions within a strand of hair. By contrast, methylephedrine and its metabolite, ephedrine, each was localized to only a region. Among 20 individual strands of hair associated with different subjects and head regions, few differences in the shapes of drug concentration–hair segment curves for each compound were detected. Our data indicated that 2 mechanisms for drug uptake into hair can operate depending on drug properties and that co‐administered drugs can be localized to different regions in a strand of hair. Micro‐segmental analysis may aid in the identification of the day of drug intake and help to elucidate the mechanisms of drug uptake into hair.