Teske L, Rubbenstroth D, Meixner M, Liere K, Bartels H, Rautenschlein S
Clinic for Poultry, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, Bünteweg 17, D-30559 Hannover, Germany.
Institute for Virology, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Hermann-Herder Str. 11, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany.
Virus Res. 2017 Jan 2;227:15-22. doi: 10.1016/j.virusres.2016.09.024. Epub 2016 Sep 30.
The young pigeon disease syndrome (YPDS) affects mainly young pigeons of less than one year of age and leads to crop stasis, vomitus, diarrhea, anorexia and occasionally death. This disease is internationally a major health problem because of its seasonal appearance during competitions such as homing pigeon races or exhibitions of ornamental birds. While the etiology of YPDS is still unclear, adenoviruses are frequently discussed as potential causative agents. Electron microscopy of feces from a YPDS outbreak revealed massive shedding of adenovirus-like particles. Whole genome sequencing of this sample identified a novel adenovirus tentatively named pigeon adenovirus 2 (PiAdV-2). Phylogenetic and comparative genome analysis suggest PiAdV-2 to belong to a new species within the genus Aviadenovirus, for which we propose the name Pigeon aviadenovirus B. The PiAdV-2 genome shares 54.9% nucleotide sequence identity with pigeon adenovirus 1 (PiAdV-1). In a screening of further YPDS-affected flocks two variants of PiAdV-2 (variant A and B) were detected which shared 97.6% nucleotide identity of partial polymerase sequences, but only 79.7% nucleotide identity of partial hexon sequences. The distribution of both PiAdV-2 variants was further investigated in fecal samples collected between 2008 and 2015 from healthy or YPDS-affected racing pigeons of different lofts. Independent of their health status, approximately 20% of young and 13% of adult pigeon flocks harbored PiAdV-2 variants. Birds were free of PiAdV-1 or other aviadenoviruses as determined by PCRs targeting the aviadenovirus polymerase or the PiAdV-1 fiber gene, respectively. In conclusion, there is no indication of a correlation between YPDS outbreaks and the presence of PiAdV-2 or other aviadenoviruses, arguing against an causative role in this disease complex.
幼鸽疾病综合征（YPDS）主要影响1岁以下的幼鸽，可导致嗉囊停滞、呕吐、腹泻、厌食，偶尔还会导致死亡。由于该病在信鸽比赛或观赏鸟展览等赛事期间季节性出现，在国际上是一个主要的健康问题。虽然YPDS的病因仍不清楚，但腺病毒常被认为是潜在的致病因子。对一次YPDS疫情中粪便进行电子显微镜检查发现大量腺病毒样颗粒脱落。对该样本进行全基因组测序鉴定出一种新型腺病毒，暂命名为鸽腺病毒2（PiAdV-2）。系统发育和比较基因组分析表明PiAdV-2属于禽腺病毒属内的一个新种，我们提议将其命名为鸽禽腺病毒B。PiAdV-2基因组与鸽腺病毒1（PiAdV-1）的核苷酸序列同一性为54.9%。在对更多受YPDS影响的鸽群进行筛查时，检测到PiAdV-2的两个变体（变体A和B），它们的部分聚合酶序列核苷酸同一性为97.6%，但部分六邻体序列核苷酸同一性仅为79.7%。在2008年至2015年期间从不同鸽舍的健康或受YPDS影响的赛鸽中收集的粪便样本中，进一步调查了这两种PiAdV-2变体的分布情况。无论其健康状况如何，约20%的幼鸽群和13%的成年鸽群携带PiAdV-2变体。通过分别针对禽腺病毒聚合酶或PiAdV-1纤维基因的PCR检测确定，这些鸟类未感染PiAdV-1或其他禽腺病毒。总之，没有迹象表明YPDS疫情与PiAdV-2或其他禽腺病毒的存在之间存在关联，这表明它们在这种疾病复合体中不具有致病作用。
