Molecular identification and Isolation of avian poxviruses from different bird species in Iran

Document Type : Original Articles

Authors

1 Department of Animal and Poultry Health and Nutrition, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

2 Department of Avian Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

3 Department of Avian Diseases Faculty of Veterinary Medicine University of Tehran Tehran, Iran

4 Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

10.32592/ARI.2025.80.2.517

Abstract

Avian pox is a common viral disease among domestic and wild birds caused by different species of avipoxviruses of the family Poxviridae. Different avipoxviruses showed some degree of host specificity. In the present study 105 tissue samples were collected from different avian species with cutaneous or mucosal proliferative and/or necrotic lesions resembling pox. Molecular detection of poxviruses was conducted by a PCR targeting a conserved 4b gene. The PCR positive samples were also used for virus isolation by chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) inoculation of embryonated chicken eggs. Pox-like lesion was observed in five avian species and subsequently avipoxvirus was detected in 19 samples of backyard rural chickens (42.2%), 24 turkey samples (70.5%), a flock of commercial layer, a flock of commercial breeder turkey, four canaries (23.5%), two pigeons and two common mynahs (Acridotheres tristis). All viruses were propagated on CAM of chicken embryo and pock formation was evident except for two backyard chicken isolates. Phylogenetic study based on partial sequencing of the 4b gene revealed similarity of poxviruses originated from chicken and turkeys which all were in subclade A1. The only sequenced pigeon pox in the present study was in subclade A2. All passerine isolates including three canarypox viruses and two novel mynahpox viruses from common mynah were close together in subclade B2. Despite the history of vaccinations, avian pox was diagnosed in two commercial flocks in different provinces including a commercial layer and a commercial turkey breeder. Based on the results of present study, it was revealed that at least three different clades of avipoxviruses are causing avian pox in Galliformes, Columbiformes and Passeriformes in Iran. To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first report of molecular typing of mynahpox viruses in Iran.

Keywords

Main Subjects


  1. global [internet] Jena, Germany: International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses; c2023 [cited 2023 August 20]. Available from: https://ictv.global/taxonomy
  2. Tripathy DN, Reed WM. Pox. In: Swayne DE, editor. Diseases of Poultry. 14th ed. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons; 2020. p. 364-381.
  3. Manarolla G, Pisoni G, Sironi G, Rampin T. Molecular biological characterization of avian poxvirus strains isolated from different avian species. Veterinary Microbioly. 2010; 140 (1-2): 1-8.
  4. Jarmin S, Manvell R, Gough RE, Laidlaw SM, Skinner MA. Avipoxvius phylogenetics: Identification of a PCR length polymorphism that discriminates between the two major clades. Journal of General Virology. 2006; 87(8): 2191- 2201.
  5. Gyuranecz M, Foster JT, Dán Á, Ip HS, Egstad KF, Parker PG, et al. Worldwide phylogenetic relationship of avian poxviruses. Journal of Virology. 2013; 87(9): 4938-51.
  6. Lee LH, Lee KH. Application of the polymerase chain reaction for the diagnosis of fowl poxvirus infection. Journal of Virological Methods. 1997;63(1-2): 113-119.
  7. Saitou N, Nei M. The neighbor-joining method: A new method for reconstructing phylogenetic trees. Molecular Biology and Evolution. 1987;4(4): 406-425.
  8. Tamura K, Nei M, Kumar S. Prospects for inferring very large phylogenies by using the neighbor-joining method. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2004; 101(30): 11030-11035.
  9. Kumar S, Stecher G, Tamura K. MEGA7: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis version 7.0 for bigger datasets. Molecular Biology and Evolution. 2016;33(7):1870-1874.
  10. Nayeri Fasaei B, Madadgar O, Ghalyanchi Langeroodi A, Ghafari MM. Molecular detection and phylogenetic analysis of Avipoxvirus strains isolated from different bird species. Iranian Journal of Veterinary Research. 2014;15 (1):40-44.
  11. Norouzian H, Farjanikish G, Hosseini H. Pathological and molecular diagnosis of avian pox in backyard chickens in Khorram Abad. Veterinary Researches & Biological Products. 2018;30(4):2-10.
  12. Akey BL, Nayar JK, Forrester DJ. Avian pox in Florida wild turkeys: Culex nigripalpus and Wyeomyia vanduzeei as experimental vectors. Journal of Wildlife Diseases. 1981; 17(4):597–599.
  13. Eram N, Peighambari SM, Madani SA, Razmyar J, Barin A. Sequence and phylogenetic study of two fowlpox virus isolates obtained from layer chickens and red mite (Dermanyssus gallinae) in 2016. Journal of Veterinary Research. 2020;75(2):218-255.
  14. Nakamura K, Waseda K, Yamamoto Y, Yamada M, Nakazawa M, Hata E, et al. Pathology of cutaneous fowlpox with amyloidosis in layer hens inoculated with fowlpoxvaccine. Avian Diseases. 2006; 50(1): 152-156.
  15. Odoya EM, Abegunde A, Agyogbo BG, Omatainse SO, Gwankat E, Okpara UG. Outbreak of turkey pox disease in fowl pox vaccinated poults in Vom plateau state of Nigeria. African Journal of Clinical and Experimental Microbiology. 2006;7(2):36-138.
  16. Moayyedian H, Mirmohammad-Sadeghi A, Hasashahi R. Clinical and Histopathological survey of lesions similar to pox skin lesions in three flocks of a large commercial layer farm. Journal of Applied Poultry Research. 2008;17(4):556-558.
  17. Fallah Mehrabadi MH, Ghalyanchilangeroudi A, Charkhkar S, Hosseini H, Zabihipetroudi T, Shayganmehr A, et al. Laying farm: Up to date on a Fowlpox Outbreak in Phylogenetic Analysis in Iran, 2018. Archives of Razi Institude. 2020;75(4): 501-508.
  18. Ferreira BC, Ecco R, Couto RM, Coelho HE, Rossi DA, Beletti ME, et al. Outbreak of cutaneous form of avian poxvirus disease in previously pox-vaccinated commercial turkeys. Pesquisa Veterinária Brasileira, 2018; 38: 417-424.
  19. Singh P, Kim TJ, Tripathy DN. Re- emerging fowlpox: evaluation of isolates from vaccinated flocks. Avian Pathology. 2000; 29(5): 449-455.
  20. Singh P, Tripathy DN. Fowlpox virus infection causes a lympho proliferative response in chickens. Viral Immunol 2003; 16(2): 223-227.
  21. Ghalyanchilangeroudi A, Hosseini H, Morshed R. Molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of avian pox virus isolated from pet birds and commercial flocks, in Iran. Slovenian Veterinary Research. 2018; 55(4): 213-218.
  22. Madani SA, Eram N, Rezaeifar A, Arabkhazaeli F. Common disease of common Mynah (Acridotheres Tristis): frequency observed pathologies in referred cases. Proceedings of 1st International Conference in Avian, Herpetological and Exotic Mammal Medicine; 2013 Apr 20-26; Wiesbaden, Germany: 2013. p. 410-412.
  23. Parker PG, Buckles EL, Farrington H, Petren K, Whiteman NK, Ricklefs RE, et al. 110 years of avipox virus in the Galapagos Islands, Plos One. 2011;6(1): e15989.