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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Veterinary Infectious Diseases
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1431172

Pathogenicity and molecular characterization of a GI-19 infectious bronchitis virus isolated from East China

Provisionally accepted
Qi Wu Qi Wu 1,2,3*Mengcheng Xu Mengcheng Xu 1,3Dengle Wei Dengle Wei 1Xuehua Zhang Xuehua Zhang 1,2Ding Li Ding Li 1,2Mei Mei Mei Mei 1,2
  • 1 Institute of Veterinary Immunology & Engineering, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences (JAAS), Nanjing, China
  • 2 GuoTai (Taizhou) Center of Technology Innovation for Veterinary Biologicals, Taizhou, China
  • 3 Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) is the etiological agent of avian infectious bronchitis, a disease that is widespread in countries with intensive poultry farming. Multiple genotypic IBV strains are prevalent in China, and understanding the dominant genotypes of IBV in specific regions is crucial for the prevention and control of IBV. In this study, the IBV strain CK/CH/WJ/215 was isolated from a diseased commercial chicken flock in 2021 in China. The CK/CH/WJ/215 isolate was clustered together with viruses in the GI-19 lineage on the basis of complete S1 sequence analysis. According to the complete S1 sequence analysis, CK/CH/WJ/215 shares low identity (75.7%, 78.6%, and 77.5%) with the three vaccination strains, H120, LDT3-A, and 4/91. Further analysis based on the potential glycosylation of S1 showed that the isolate exhibited new glycosylation sites at positions 138 and 530 in comparison to those of the H120 and LDT-A vaccine strains, respectively. The pathological assessment revealed that the isolate was a nephropathogenic IBV strain that caused a high morbidity of 100% and a mortality of 73.3% in 7-day-old specific-pathogen-free (SPF) chicks.The CK/CH/WJ/215 isolate exhibited broader tropisms in different tissues, including the trachea, lungs, kidneys, and bursa of Fabricius. This study conducted a comprehensive complete S1 gene analysis and pathological investigation of the CK/CH/WJ/215 isolate. The results revealed significant genetic differences compared to commonly used vaccine strains, novel glycosylation sites, and a strong multiorgan infective capability. These findings are crucial for understanding the

    Keywords: Infectious bronchitis virus, phylogenetic analysis, pathogenicity, Tissue tropism, GI-19 genotype

    Received: 11 May 2024; Accepted: 23 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wu, Xu, Wei, Zhang, Li and Mei. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Qi Wu, Institute of Veterinary Immunology & Engineering, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences (JAAS), Nanjing, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.