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. 2004 Apr;68(2):140-5.

Characterization of avipoxviruses from wild birds in Norway

Simon Chioma Weli  1 , Malachy Ifeanyi Okeke, Morten Tryland, Oivind Nilssen, Terje Traavik
Affiliations

Characterization of avipoxviruses from wild birds in Norway

Simon Chioma Weli et al. Can J Vet Res. 2004 Apr.

Abstract
in English, French

Avipoxviruses from different geographic regions of the world have been characterized to study their genetic and biological properties, but so far, no such work has been performed on Norwegian isolates. Lesions suggestive of avian pox, found on a Norwegian wild sparrow (Passer domesticus) and wood pigeon (Palumbus palumbus), were obtained in 1972 and 1996, respectively. Histologically, these lesions were demonstrated to be characteristic of poxvirus infections and the poxvirus was observed using an electron microscope. The resulting viruses were propagated in chicken embryo fibroblast cells. Restriction fragment length polymorphism of genomes from 2 Norwegian isolates and fowl pox vaccine strain, generated by BamHI, revealed a high degree of heterogeneity among the isolates. The profiles of avipoxviruses isolated from wild birds were clearly distinct from each other and also to the fowl poxvirus strain. Furthermore, chickens experimentally infected with pigeon poxvirus had higher antibody titers and extensive lesions compared to other isolates. This may suggest that pigeon poxvirus is more virulent than the other isolates.

Les avipoxvirus de différentes régions géographiques du mode ont été caractérisés dans le but d’étudier leurs propriétés génétiques et biologiques, mais jusqu’à ce jour ce genre d’étude n’a pas été effectuée sur des isolats norvégiens. Des lésions suggestives d’infection par des poxvirus aviaires ont été trouvées en Norvège chez un moineau domestique (Passer domesticus) et un pigeon ramier (Palumbus palumbus) obtenu respectivement en 1972 et 1996. Les lésions histologiques étaient caractéristiques de celles des infections par les poxvirus et des poxvirus ont été observés par microscopie électronique. Les virus isolés ont été propagés sur des fibroblastes d’embryon de poulet. L’analyse du polymorphisme des fragments obtenus avec l’enzyme de restriction BamHI des 2 isolats norvégiens et de la souche vaccinale du poxvirus du poulet a révélé un degré élevé d’hétérogénéité parmi les isolats. Les profils des avipoxvirus isolés des oiseaux sauvages étaient clairement distincts l’un de l’autre ainsi que de la souche vaccinale. De plus, des poulets infectés expérimentalement avec le poxvirus du pigeon avaient des titres en anticorps plus élevés et des lésions plus extensives que les poulets infectés avec les autres isolats. Ceci laisserait à penser que le poxvirus du pigeon est plus virulent que les autres isolats.

(Traduit par Docteur Serge Messier)

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Electron micrograph of negatively stained poxvirus in chicken embryo fibroblast (CEF) cells.
Figure 2a
Figure 2a
Electron micrograph of ultra-thin section of mature pigeon poxvirus. Arrows indicate brick-shaped virus with an electron-dense biconcave nucleocapsid core (N), an intermediate coat enclosing 2 lateral bodies (B) and an outer lipoprotein coat (E).
Figure 2b
Figure 2b
Electron micrograph of ultra-thin section, showing intracellular mature virus (IMV) and immature virus (IV) in chicken embryo fibroblast (CEF) cells.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Agarose gel electrophoresis of DNA of avipoxviruses after cleavage with BamHI. Lane 3, fowl poxvirus vaccine strain; lane 4, sparrow poxvirus; lane 5, pigeon poxvirus; lanes 1 and 2, lambda DNA-HindIII/ΦX-174 DNA-Hae III and 1 kb markers, respectively.
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