viruses Article Discovery and Characterization of Novel RNA Viruses in Aquatic North American Wild Birds Marta Canuti 1,* , Ashley N. K. Kroyer 1, Davor Ojkic 2, Hugh G. Whitney 1, Gregory J. Robertson 3 and Andrew S. Lang 1,* 1 Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 232 Elizabeth Ave., St. John’s, NL A1B 3X9, Canada 2 Animal Health Laboratory, Laboratory Services Division, University of Guelph, 419 Gordon St., Guelph, ON N1H 6R8, Canada 3 Wildlife Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, 6 Bruce Street, Mount Pearl, NL A1N 4T3, Canada * Correspondence:
[email protected] (M.C.);
[email protected] (A.S.L.); Tel.: +1-709-864-8761 (M.C.); +1-709-864-7517 (A.S.L.) Received: 15 July 2019; Accepted: 18 August 2019; Published: 21 August 2019 Abstract: Wild birds are recognized viral reservoirs but our understanding about avian viral diversity is limited. We describe here three novel RNA viruses that we identified in oropharyngeal/cloacal swabs collected from wild birds. The complete genome of a novel gull metapneumovirus (GuMPV B29) was determined. Phylogenetic analyses indicated that this virus could represent a novel avian metapneumovirus (AMPV) sub-group, intermediate between AMPV-C and the subgroup of the other AMPVs. This virus was detected in an American herring (1/24, 4.2%) and great black-backed (4/26, 15.4%) gulls. A novel gull coronavirus (GuCoV B29) was detected in great black-backed (3/26, 11.5%) and American herring (2/24, 8.3%) gulls. Phylogenetic analyses of GuCoV B29 suggested that this virus could represent a novel species within the genus Gammacoronavirus, close to other recently identified potential novel avian coronaviral species.