Novel avian metaavulavirus isolated from birds of the family Columbidae in Taiwan

• Published in: Veterinary microbiology 2019-09, Vol.236, p.108377-108377, Article 108377
• Main Authors: Liu, Yu-Pin, Kuo, Shu-Ting, Chiou, Chwei-Jang, Terregino, Calogero, Tsai, Hsiang-Jung
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Avian flu; Avian metaavulavirus; Avulavirinae; Avulavirus; Avulavirus - genetics; Avulavirus - isolation & purification; Birds; Columbidae; Columbidae - virology; Cross-reactivity; Electron microscopy; Gene Expression Regulation, Viral; Genes; Genetic Variation; Genome, Viral; Genomes; Hemagglutination inhibition; Heterogeneity; New species; Nucleotide sequence; Paramyxovirus; Pathogenicity; Pathogens; Phylogeny; Poultry; Streptopelia tranquebarica; Topology; Viral Proteins - genetics; Viral Proteins - metabolism; Viruses; Whole genome
• ISSN: 0378-1135; 1873-2542
• DOI: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2019.07.029

•Wild birds maintain previously unrecognized genetic diversity of avian paramyxovirus.•The first report of APMV inhabiting in birds of the family Columbidae in Taiwan.•Classification based on whole genome and new RdRp phylogeny-based system.•These isolates should be considered as a novel species, APMV-21. Avian paramyxoviruses (APMVs) consist of twenty known species and have been isolated from domestic and wild birds around the world. In 2009, the isolate APMV/dove/Taiwan/AHRI33/2009 was isolated from swabs of red turtle doves (Streptopelia tranquebarica) during active surveillance of avian influenza in resident birds in Taiwan, and it was initially identified as paramyxovirus based on electron microscopy. Hemagglutination inhibition assays indicated antigenic heterogeneity of AHRI33 with the known APMV-1, -2, -3, -4, -6, -8, and -9 species, only showing weak but measurable cross-reactivity with APMV-7. Pathogenicity ICPI test revealed that the virus was avirulent for chickens. The AHRI33 virus genome revealed a typical APMV structure consisting of six genes 3′-NP-P-M-F-HN-L-5′, and the length of the genome was 16,914 nucleotides, the third longest among the members of the subfamily Avulavirinae. Estimates of the nucleotide sequence identities of the genome between each prototype of APMVs had shown AHRI33 to be more closely related to APMV-7 than to the others, with a sequence identity of 62.8%. Based on topology of the phylogenetic tree of RdRp genes and the branch length between the nearest node and the tip of the branch, AHRI33 met the criteria for designation as distinct species. Together, the data suggest that the isolate APMV/dove/Taiwan/AHRI33/2009 should be considered as the prototype strain of the new species Avian metaavulavirus 21 in the genus Metaavulavirus in the subfamily Avulavirinae.