A comparative phylogenomic analysis of avian avulavirus 1 isolated from non-avian hosts: conquering new frontiers of zoonotic potential among species

• Published in: Archives of virology Vol. 164; no. 7; pp. 1771 - 1780
• Main Authors: Ul-Rahman, Aziz, Shabbir, Muhammad Zubair
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Vienna Springer Vienna 01.07.2019; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adaptation, Physiological - genetics; Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Avulavirus - classification; Avulavirus - genetics; Avulavirus - isolation & purification; Avulavirus Infections - epidemiology; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Bird Diseases - virology; Epidemiology; Evolution; Genomic analysis; Genotype; Genotypes; Host Specificity - genetics; Humans; Infectious Diseases; Medical Microbiology; Mink; Molecular Epidemiology; Original Article; Phylogeny; Sequence Alignment; Swine; Virology; Zoonoses
• ISSN: 0304-8608; 1432-8798
• DOI: 10.1007/s00705-019-04276-z

A number of avian avulavirus 1 (AAvV 1) isolates have been reported from avian and non-avian hosts worldwide with varying clinical consequences. In this regard, robust surveillance coupled with advanced diagnostics, genomic analysis, and disease modelling has provided insight into the molecular epidemiology and evolution of this virus. The genomic and evolutionary characteristics of AAvV 1 isolates originating from avian hosts have been well studied, but those originating from non-avian hosts have not. Here, we report a comparative genomic and evolutionary analysis of so-far reported AAvV 1 isolates originating from hosts other than avian species (humans, mink and swine). Phylogenetic analysis showed that AAvV 1 isolates clustered in five distinct genotypes (I, II, VI, VII and XIII). Further analysis revealed clustering of isolates into clades distant enough to be considered distinct subgenotypes, along with a few substitutions in several significant motifs. Although further investigation is needed, the clustering of AAvV 1 strains isolated from non-avian hosts into novel subgenotypes and the presence of substitutions in important structural and biological motifs suggest that this virus can adapt to novel hosts and therefore could have zoonotic potential.