A Novel Pathogenic Avipoxvirus Infecting Vulnerable Cook's Petrel (Pterodroma cookii) in Australia Demonstrates a High Genomic and Evolutionary Proximity with South African Avipoxviruses.

ABSTRACT: Avipoxviruses are assumed to be restricted to avian hosts and are considered to be important viral pathogens that may impact the conservation of many vulnerable or endangered birds. Recent reports of avipoxvirus-like viruses from reptiles suggest that cross-species transmission may be possible within birds and other species. Most of the avipoxviruses in wild and sea birds remain uncharacterized, and their genetic variability is unclear. Here, cutaneous pox lesions were used to recover a novel, full-length Cook's petrelpox virus (CPPV) genome from a vulnerable Cook's petrel (Pterodroma cookii), and this was followed by the detection of immature virions using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The CPPV genome was 314,065 bp in length and contained 357 predicted open-reading frame

SUBMITTER: Sarker S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10100368 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature