Complete Genome Sequence of an Avian Bornavirus Isolated from a Healthy Canadian Goose ( Branta canadensis )

• Main Authors: Guo, Jianhua, Baroch, John, Randall, Adam, Tizard, Ian
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln 2013
• Subjects: Life Sciences; Branta canadensis
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/icwdm_usdanwrc/1480; https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/context/icwdm_usdanwrc/article/2499/viewcontent/Guo_GA_2013_Complete_genome.pdf

Avian bornavirus (ABV) is the causative agent of proventricular dilatation disease, a fatal neurologic and gastrointestinal disease in psittacine and other birds (1, 2). The genomic sequences of different ABV isolates are much more variable than those of Borna disease virus (BDV) isolates (3). Recent surveys have demonstrated that a unique genotype of ABV also infects apparently healthy geese and swans across North America (4–6). Under some circumstances, it has been reported to cause lethal neurological disease in Canadian geese and trumpeter swans (7, 8). The viruses that infect geese and swans are apparently from a single genotype. We report here on the complete genomic sequence of ABV isolated from the brain of a healthy Canadian goose (Branta canadensis), collected in Union County, New Jersey, on 14 February 2011. In this study, an ABV-positive goose brain sample was initially identified using a reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) employing primers targeting the M gene, as described previously (5, 6). A brain sample from this bird was then used to inoculate primary duck embryo fibroblasts (DEF). Following 3 serial passages, ABV growth was detected using RT-PCR. Two PCR products, approximately 3 and 6 kb in size, were cloned into the pCRTM4-TOPO vector and sequenced using a primer-walking approach by the Gene Technology Lab of Texas A&M University. The sequences were assembled with Sequencher 4.1, and phylogenetic analysis was performed using MEGA5.2.