Skip to main content

Person

Erik K Hofmeister

Veterinary Medical Officer

National Wildlife Health Center

Email: ehofmeister@usgs.gov
Office Phone: 608-270-2476
Fax: 608-270-2418
ORCID: 0000-0002-6360-3912

Location
NWHC - Main Building
6006 Schroeder Road
Madison , WI 53711-6223
US

Supervisor: David S Blehert
The data set contains the results of experimental challenge of captive zebra finches with an American crow isolate of West Nile virus (WNV). Data include infectivity, mortality, viremia, oral shedding of virus, and serology for anti- WNV antibodies. Australian and Timor zebra finches were used in this study and both are useful as a laboratory model of an avian species with moderate susceptibility to WNV.
The data set contains paired-end, 100 nucleotide long RNA sequencing reads for each sample. Raw sequencing reads ranged from 18-30million reads per sample. Quality trimmed reads were mapped to the Zebra Finch reference genome with an average of 79.0-80.8% mapping rate, corresponding to 18,618 Ensembl gene IDs. Of these, 14,114 genes averaged at least 5 mapped reads across all samples and were utilized for differential expression (DE) analyses. DE analyzed two ways: as pairwise comparisons between treatments to identify specific genes with DEseq2 and as a time course grouping genes into expression paths with EBSeqHMM.
Following building an aerosol exposure chamber in which we could expose domesticated zebra finches, we examined the effects of exposure to aerosolized Permanone® 30:30 insecticide (permethrin and piperonyl butoxide in soy oil vehicle) at ~103-106 x potential environmental concentrations on the response to experimental challenge with West Nile virus (WNV). Compared to vehicle control birds, WNV outcome was unchanged (65% of birds produced a viremia) in the ‘low’ exposure (9.52 mg/m3±3.13 SD permethrin) group, but reduced in the ‘high’ exposure (mean 376.5 mg/m3±27.9 SD permethrin) group (30% were viremic) (p < 0.05). After clearing WNV infection, birds treated with Permanone regained less body mass than vehicle treated...
Three datasets are included: 1) survival of domesticated canaries and American crows following sub-cutaneous challenges ranging from 101 – 105 plaque forming units of West Nile virus. 2) Arbitrary units of WNV detected by RT-PCR or plaque forming units of WNV cultured in vero cells in 4 separate studies. Culture results are indicated for each day post WNV challenge. 3) Weight (mass) changes in grams in canaries and crows each day following WNV challenge. Day 0 (inoculation) set to 0 gms, then each subsequent day is change in gms from previous day.
thumbnail
We conducted a serosurvey of snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) for vector-borne pathogens in 2016-2017 that were captured in the Hiawatha National Forest in the eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA. At capture, in addition to age, sex, body weight of the hare and a blood sample data was collected on the ecological land type (USDA Forest Service. 2006. Hiawatha National Forest 2006 Forest Plan. https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/hiawatha/landmanagement/planning/?cid=STELPRDB5106336) at the point of capture. Serology was conducted for antibodies to Snowshoe hare virus, Jamestown Canyon virus, La Crosse virus, West Nile virus, tick-transmitted Powassan virus, Silverwater virus, Borrelia burgdorferi, and Francisella...
View more...
ScienceBase brings together the best information it can find about USGS researchers and offices to show connections to publications, projects, and data. We are still working to improve this process and information is by no means complete. If you don't see everything you know is associated with you, a colleague, or your office, please be patient while we work to connect the dots. Feel free to contact sciencebase@usgs.gov.