Identification of Novel Helicobacter spp. from a Beluga Whale

Identification of a novel coronavirus from a beluga whale by using a panviral microarray.

The emergence of viruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus and Nipah virus has underscored the role of animal reservoirs in human disease and the need for reservoir surveillance. Here, we used a panviral DNA microarray to investigate the death of a captive beluga whale in an aquatic park. A highly divergent coronavirus, tentatively named coronavirus SW1, was identified in li...

The electrocardiogram of a Beluga whale.

The Genome of the Beluga Whale (Delphinapterus leucas)

The beluga whale is a cetacean that inhabits arctic and subarctic regions, and is the only living member of the genus Delphinapterus. The genome of the beluga whale was determined using DNA sequencing approaches that employed both microfluidic partitioning library and non-partitioned library construction. The former allowed for the construction of a highly contiguous assembly with a scaffold N5...

Genome Sequence of an Alphaherpesvirus from a Beluga Whale (Delphinapterus leucas)

Beluga whale alphaherpesvirus 1 was isolated from a blowhole swab taken from a juvenile beluga whale. The genome is 144,144 bp in size and contains 86 putative genes. The virus groups phylogenetically with members of the genus Varicellovirus in subfamily Alphaherpesvirinae and is the first alphaherpesvirus sequenced from a marine mammal.

Environmental Adaptations of the Beluga Whale (Delphinapterus leucas)

This paper aims to analyze the physiological, perceptual, and behavioral adaptations in the Beluga Whale (Delphinapterus leucas) as a result of its arctic niche. The social implications of these adaptations will be examined by looking at each part as influential elements of each other. Lastly, the idea of defining culture in cetaceans will be addressed, including a proposal for examining cultur...