The first report and biological characterization of Avian Orthoavulavirus 16 in wild migratory waterfowl and domestic poultry in China reveal a potential threat to birds

ABSTRACT

The Avulavirus within the family Paramyxoviridae includes at least 22 different species, and is known to cause different types of infections and even be fatal in multiple avian species. There is limited knowledge of the genetic and biological information of Avulavirus species 2 to 22 in domestic and wild birds and the disease significance of these viruses in birds is not fully determined, although as many as 10 new distinct species have been identified from wild birds and domestic poultry around the world in the last decade. This study aimed to use PCR, virus isolation, and sequencing to genetically and biologically characterize Avian Orthoavulavirus 16 (AOAV-16) in wild birds and domestic poultry collected from different locations in China between 2014 and 2022. Of five isolated AOAV-16 strains (Y1 to Y5), only the Y4 strain had a haemagglutination (HA)-negative result. All of these isolates were low virulent viruses for chickens, except Y3 which was detected simultaneously with avian influenza virus (AIV) of H9N2 subtype. Furthermore, at least four different types of intergenic sequences (IGS) between the HN and L genes junction, and recombination events, as well as interspecific transmission by wild migratory birds, existed within the species AOAV-16. These findings and results of other reported AOAV-16 strains recommend strict control measures to limit contact between wild migratory birds and domestic poultry and imply potential threats to commercial poultry and even public health challenges worldwide.

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

• First confirmation of AOAV-16 in domestic and wild birds in China.

• AOAV-16 are low virulent viruses for chickens.

• Co-circulation/co-infection of AOAV-16 and H9N2 subtype AIV enhanced pathogenicity.

• Different intergenic sequences and recombination events exist within AOAV-16.

KEYWORDS:

• AOAV-16
• domestic poultry
• recombination event
• co-infection
• intergenic sequence
• H9N2 AIV

Authorship contribution

RY, XinL, JC. ZD: investigation, conceptualization, formal analysis, writing – original draft, writing – review and editing, resources, Supervision, funding acquisition. WY, HC, HongjL: methodology, validation, formal analysis, Writing – original draft. MW, SJ, YS, SW, YR, HonglL, YL: methodology, validation, formal analysis. TS, AW, AD, CG, XX, CM, DA: formal analysis, writing – original draft, writing – review and editing, resources.

Additional information

Funding

This study was partly supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Jilin Province under Grants 20230203138SF and 20220402055GH; the Science and Technology Research Project of Jilin Provincial Department of Education under Grants JJKH20221039KJ and JJKH20231502KJ; the Shanxi Province Science and Technology Cooperation and Exchange Project under Grant 202204041101019; the Macedonian-Chinese Scientific and Technological Cooperation project under Grants 6–19 and 20-6337/1; and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities under Grant 2022-JCXK-33.