BioSample

The tufted duck (Aythya fuligula) is a common, migratory diving duck of Eurasia. It flocks in large groups with other duck species on larger lakes and is therefore a target of avian influenza epidemiologists. In 2016/2017 the tufted duck was one of the main victim species of a large outbreak of avian influenza in wild birds, particularly in Europe. Several research groups hope to find clues about the differences in avian influenza susceptibility among duck species in wild populations. This sample is from an experimental group that was studied for their detailed responses to avian influenza infection by a consortium of Swedish (Mahmoud Naguib, Patrik Ellstrom, Josef Jarhult), German (Ralf Muller, Elinor Jax, Robert Kraus), Scottish (Jacqueline Smith, Lel Eory, Richard Kuo and Amanda Warr) and Danish researchers among others. For the comparative genomics aspect of this project, a chromosome level reference assembly of this assembly was generated as part of the G10K-VGP Project.