J Vet Sci.
2021 Jul;22(4):e43. 10.4142/jvs.2021.22.e43.
Novel reassortant 2.3.4.4B H5N6 highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses circulating among wild, domestic birds in Xinjiang, Northwest China
- Affiliations
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- 1Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Genetic Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, China
- 2CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Disease, Institute of Microbiology, Center for Influenza Research and Early-Warning (CASCIRE), Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100101, China
- 3Key Laboratory of Etiology and Emerging infections Disease in Shandong First Medical University, Taian 271016, China
- KMID: 2518806
- DOI: http://doi.org/10.4142/jvs.2021.22.e43
Abstract
- Background
The H5 avian influenza viruses (AIVs) of clade 2.3.4.4 circulate in wild and domestic birds worldwide. In 2017, nine strains of H5N6 AIVs were isolated from aquatic poultry in Xinjiang, Northwest China.
Objectives
This study aimed to analyze the origin, reassortment, and mutations of the AIV isolates.
Methods
AIVs were isolated from oropharyngeal and cloacal swabs of poultry. Identification was accomplished by inoculating isolates into embryonated chicken eggs and performing hemagglutination tests and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The viral genomes were amplified with RT-PCR and then sequenced. The sequence alignment, phylogenetic, and molecular characteristic analyses were performed by using bioinformatic software.
Results
Nine isolates originated from the same ancestor. The viral HA gene belonged to clade 2.3.4.4B, while the NA gene had a close phylogenetic relationship with the 2.3.4.4C H5N6 highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIVs) isolated from shoveler ducks in Ningxia in 2015. The NP gene was grouped into an independent subcluster within the 2.3.4.4B H5N8 AIVs, and the remaining six genes all had close phylogenetic relationships with the 2.3.4.4B H5N8 HPAIVs isolated from the wild birds in China, Egypt, Uganda, Cameroon, and India in 2016–2017, Multiple basic amino acid residues associated with HPAIVs were located adjacent to the cleavage site of the HA protein. The nine isolates comprised reassortant 2.3.4.4B HPAIVs originating from 2.3.4.4B H5N8 and 2.3.4.4C H5N6 viruses in wild birds.
Conclusions
These results suggest that the Northern Tianshan Mountain wetlands in Xinjiang may have a key role in AIVs disseminating from Central China to the Eurasian continent and East African.
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