Author
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Day, James |
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Zsak, Laszlo |
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Submitted to: American Association of Avian Pathologists
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 12/31/2014 Publication Date: 7/10/2015 Citation: Day, J.M., Zsak, L. 2015. Investigating the avian enteric picornaviruses in turkeys and chickens: viral community analyses and potential roles in pathogenesis [abstract]. 2015 American Association of Avian Pathologists Scientific Program Abstracts. p. 45-46. CDROM Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: There is a great deal of interest in characterizing the complex viral community in the poultry gut, and in using that data to understand the effects of this dynamic community on poultry performance and overall gut health. Initial investigations into the poultry enteric virome have identified novel viruses, but the roles these viruses play in poultry performance problems are only minimally understood. Analysis of the intestinal virome from contact chickens (“sentinels”) placed on broiler farms revealed colonization of birds by members of the Picornaviridae (among other viruses). It is not known if the enteric picornaviruses are associated with the disease signs often observed in the poultry enteric disease syndromes. A subsequent investigation was undertaken to propagate field strains of the novel enteric picornaviruses in commercial turkey poults, which resulted in significant reduction in weight gain, and suggests that this common inhabitant of the turkey and chicken gut may result in performance problems or enteric disease in the field. A novel molecular diagnostic assay was designed and used to track the shedding of these field strains in experimental birds. Initial molecular and phylogenetic characterizations of these novel turkey and chicken enteropathogens will be presented. |
