Sarker Subir, Athukorala Ajani, Nyandowe Tadiwa, Bowden Timothy R, Boyle David B
Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC 3086, Australia.
CSIRO Livestock Industries, Australian Animal Health Laboratory, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia.
Pathogens. 2021 May 9;10(5):575. doi: 10.3390/pathogens10050575.
Marine bird populations have been declining globally with the factors driving this decline not fully understood. Viral diseases, including those caused by poxviruses, are a concern for endangered seabird species. In this study we have characterised a novel avipoxvirus, tentatively designated albatrosspox virus (ALPV), isolated from a skin lesion of an endangered New Zealand northern royal albatross (). The ALPV genome was 351.9 kbp in length and contained 336 predicted genes, seven of which were determined to be unique. The highest number of genes (313) in the ALPV genome were homologs of those in shearwaterpox virus 2 (SWPV2), while a further 10 were homologs to canarypox virus (CNPV) and an additional six to shearwaterpox virus 1 (SWPV1). Phylogenetic analyses positioned the ALPV genome within a distinct subclade comprising recently isolated avipoxvirus genome sequences from shearwater, penguin and passerine bird species. This is the first reported genome sequence of ALPV from a northern royal albatross and will help to track the evolution of avipoxvirus infections in this endangered species.
全球海鸟数量一直在下降，导致这种下降的因素尚未完全明了。包括痘病毒引起的疾病在内的病毒性疾病，是濒危海鸟物种所面临的一个问题。在本研究中，我们对一种新的禽痘病毒进行了特征描述，该病毒暂定为信天翁痘病毒（ALPV），是从一只濒危的新西兰北部皇家信天翁的皮肤损伤处分离得到的。ALPV基因组长度为351.9千碱基对，包含336个预测基因，其中7个被确定为独特基因。ALPV基因组中数量最多的基因（313个）与2型海燕痘病毒（SWPV2）中的基因同源，另有10个与金丝雀痘病毒（CNPV）同源，还有6个与1型海燕痘病毒（SWPV1）同源。系统发育分析将ALPV基因组定位在一个独特的亚分支内，该亚分支包含最近从海燕、企鹅和雀形目鸟类物种中分离出的禽痘病毒基因组序列。这是首次报道来自北部皇家信天翁的ALPV基因组序列，将有助于追踪这种濒危物种中禽痘病毒感染的演变情况。
