Avian keratin disorder of Alaska black-capped chickadees is associated with Poecivirus infection.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Avian keratin disorder (AKD) is an epizootic of debilitating beak deformities, first documented in black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) in Alaska during the late 1990s. Similar deformities have now been recorded in dozens of species of birds across multiple continents. Despite this, the etiology of AKD has remained elusive, making it difficult to assess the impacts of this disease on wild populations. We previously identified an association between infection with a novel picornavirus, Poecivirus, and AKD in a small cohort of black-capped chickadees.

Methods

To test if the association between Poecivirus and AKD holds in a larger study population, we used targeted PCR followed by Sanger sequencing to screen 124 symptomatic and asymptomatic black-capped chi

SUBMITTER: Zylberberg M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6003155 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature