Tan Sumei, Wang Xiu, Zhuang Qingye, Gong Huanyu, Chen Ruixu, Chen Jiming, Liu Dahai, Liao Ming
School of Animal Science and Technology, Foshan University, Foshan, China.
Zhaoqing Agricultural School, Zhaoqing, China.
Front Microbiol. 2025 Sep 3;16:1647728. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1647728. eCollection 2025.
Various coronaviruses (CoVs) are pathogenic to humans and animals. Most pathogenic CoVs belong to the subfamily, which comprises the genera of , , , and . Pigeon gammacoronavirus (PgCoV) is prevalent in pigeons but remains poorly characterized.
In this study, the first complete genome sequence of PgCoV was obtained through high-throughput sequencing and systematically analyzed along with other CoV genomic sequences.
PgCoVs exhibited significant differences from other avian gammacoronaviruses in genomic structure, phylogenetic relationships, and N-glycosylation sites in the S protein. These differences warrant classifying PgCoVs and some Australian chicken gammacoronaviruses as two new species and justify removing one existing chicken gammacoronavirus species (), according to the demarcation criteria set by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses. Sequence analysis also revealed that both minor mutations (e.g., nucleotide substitutions) and major mutations (e.g., frameshift mutations and genomic recombination) play key roles in the evolution of gammacoronaviruses. An epidemiological survey revealed a high prevalence of PgCoVs and other avian gammacoronaviruses in their respective poultry flocks, as well as cross-species transmission of these viruses. Furthermore, evidence supporting the PgCoV replication in intestinal and kidney tissues of pigeons was identified, indicating potential pathogenicity in the digestive and urinary systems. A specific, sensitive, and reproducible fluorescent RT-PCR assay for PgCoV detection was developed.
This study expands our understanding of the genome, taxonomy, and distribution of PgCoVs and other avian gammacoronaviruses, which is significant for risk assessment, detection, and control of these viruses.
多种冠状病毒（CoV）可感染人类和动物。大多数致病性CoV属于 亚科，该亚科包含 、 、 及 属。鸽γ冠状病毒（PgCoV）在鸽子中普遍存在，但目前对其特征了解较少。
在本研究中，通过高通量测序获得了PgCoV的首个完整基因组序列，并与其他CoV基因组序列进行了系统分析。
PgCoV在基因组结构、系统发育关系及S蛋白的N - 糖基化位点方面与其他禽γ冠状病毒存在显著差异。根据国际病毒分类委员会设定的分类标准，这些差异表明应将PgCoV和一些澳大利亚鸡γ冠状病毒归为两个新物种，并将现有的一种鸡γ冠状病毒物种（ ）移除。序列分析还表明，小突变（如核苷酸替换）和大突变（如移码突变和基因组重组）在γ冠状病毒的进化中均起关键作用。一项流行病学调查显示，PgCoV和其他禽γ冠状病毒在各自的家禽群体中感染率很高，且存在跨物种传播。此外，还发现了支持PgCoV在鸽子肠道和肾脏组织中复制的证据，表明其在消化系统和泌尿系统中具有潜在致病性。开发了一种用于检测PgCoV的特异性强、灵敏度高且可重复的荧光RT - PCR检测方法。
本研究扩展了我们对PgCoV和其他禽γ冠状病毒的基因组、分类及分布的认识，这对于这些病毒的风险评估、检测和控制具有重要意义。
