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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Athens, Georgia » U.S. National Poultry Research Center » Endemic Poultry Viral Diseases Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #308471
Title: Development of diagnostic assays to monitor novel poultry enteric viruses

Author
item Day, James
item Zsak, Laszlo

Submitted to: World Veterinary Poultry Association
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/15/2014
Publication Date: 9/11/2014
Citation: Day, J.M., Zsak, L. 2014. Development of diagnostic assays to monitor novel poultry enteric viruses. In: Proceedings of the 2nd World Veterinary Poultry Association Asia Meeting: Testing and Monitoring, September 11-12, 2014, Bangkok, Thailand. p. 61-65.

Interpretive Summary: The poultry gut plays a key role in poultry performance, but much remains to be discovered regarding the viruses present in the poultry intestinal tract. It is likely that certain intestinal viruses may affect the overall health and performance of commercial poultry, and it is possible that unidentified and minimally described viruses may play specific roles in poultry intestinal disease problems. Recent community analyses in our laboratory of the numerous viruses present in the turkey gastrointestinal tract have revealed a number of novel viruses. We have developed diagnostic tools in our laboratory to help characterize these viruses and to generate data regarding their occurrence in poultry in the United States. We have also been able to compare these novel poultry viruses to similar viruses found in other agricultural animals. These initial descriptions of these novel poultry viruses will inform downstream management decisions by stakeholders in the field and will provide information necessary to develop intervention and prevention strategies for these viral intestinal diseases.

Technical Abstract: The gut plays a key role in poultry performance, but much remains to be discovered regarding the complex viral constituency present in the poultry intestinal tract. It is likely that certain enteric viruses may affect the overall health and performance of commercial poultry, and it is possible that unidentified and minimally described viruses may play specific roles in enteric disease syndromes. Recent metagenomic analyses of the RNA virome present in the turkey gastrointestinal tract have revealed a number of novel enteric viruses. Molecular diagnostic assays designed in our laboratory to target the novel turkey picobirnavirus (PBV) RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) gene, the novel turkey calicivirus ORF1 polyprotein, and the turkey enteric picornavirus capsid (VP0/VP3) have been successfully used to detect each of these viruses in archived enteric samples held at Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory and in poultry enteric field samples collected with the help of industry stakeholders in poultry producing regions of the United States. Phylogenetic analysis comparing the North Carolina turkey-origin PBV RdRp partial coding regions with genogroup I and II PBVs detected in several mammal species revealed the turkey-origin PBVs are unique among the available sequences, and do not appear to group closely with either the recognized genogroup I or II PBVs. Phylogenetic analysis of the North Carolina turkey enteric calicivirus originally detected via our initial RNA virus metagenome revealed a grouping with enteric caliciviruses from pigs as well as with a relatively newly described chicken calicivirus. The turkey enteric picornaviruses are also novel and group with a recently described group of picornaviruses (the turdiviruses) found mainly in the thrushes (Family Turdidae) and with the turkey galliviruses described in Hungary. Our ongoing phylogenetic analyses of these novel enteric viruses will be discussed.