Mitochondrial Divergence between Western and Eastern Great Bustards: Implications for Conservation and Species Status.

The great bustard is the heaviest bird capable of flight and an iconic species of the Eurasian steppe. Populations of both currently recognized subspecies are highly fragmented and critically small in Asia. We used DNA sequence data from the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene and the mitochondrial control region to estimate the degree of mitochondrial differentiation and rates of female gene flow between the subspecies.

[Isolation of the influenza virus from ducks in the Aral Sea region].

Influenza A/duck/Aralsk/1/78 virus was isolated from ducks in southwestern Kazakhstan. Typing of this virus neuraminidase indicated its appurtenance to the 2nd avian type. Hemagglutinin of A/duck/Aralsk/1/78 virus typed by the HI test showed no relationship with any one of the strains used in the test including H0, H1, H2, H3, Hsw1, Heq1, Heq2, viruses and strains with all 10 avian hemagglutinins.