A Novel Dependoparvovirus Identified in Cloacal Swabs of Monk Parakeet ( Myiopsitta monachus ) from Urban Areas of Spain

• Published in: Viruses Vol. 15; no. 4; p. 850
• Main Authors: Sánchez, Christian, Doménech, Ana, Gomez-Lucia, Esperanza, Méndez, José Luis, Ortiz, Juan Carlos, Benítez, Laura
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 26.03.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Amino acid sequence; Animals; Biodiversity; Biological diversity; Birds; dependoparvovirus; Dependovirus; Dependoviruses; Diagnosis; Disease; Ecosystem; Genetic aspects; Genomes; Health aspects; Health care; Humans; Identification and classification; Indigenous species; Introduced species; Invasive species; Metagenomics; Mortality; Myiopsitta monachus; Native species; New species; Nonnative species; Parakeets - genetics; Parrots; Parvovirus; Parvoviruses; Pathogens; Phylogenetics; Phylogeny; Proteins; psittacid; Public health; Recombination; Rep protein; Spain; Urban areas; Viruses; Zoonoses; Spain; United States > US; Madrid Spain; Germany; phylogenetics; psittacid; dependoparvovirus; metagenomics; invasive species
• ISSN: 1999-4915; 1999-4915
• DOI: 10.3390/v15040850

The introduction of invasive birds into new ecosystems frequently has negative consequences for the resident populations. Accordingly, the increasing population of monk parakeets ( ) in Europe may pose a threat because we have little knowledge of the viruses they can transmit to native naïve species. In this study, we describe a new dependoparvovirus detected by metagenomic analysis of cloacal samples from 28 apparently healthy individuals captured in urban areas of Madrid, Spain. The genomic characterization revealed that the genome encoded the NS and VP proteins typical of parvoviruses and was flanked by inverted terminal repeats. No recombination signal was detected. The phylogenetic analysis showed that it was closely related to a parvovirus isolated in a wild psittacid in China. Both viruses share 80% Rep protein sequence identity and only 64% with other dependoparvoviruses identified in Passeriformes, Anseriformes, and Piciformes and are included in a highly supported clade, which could be considered a new species. The prevalence was very low, and none of the additional 73 individuals tested positive by PCR. These results highlight the importance of exploring the viral genome in invasive species to prevent the emergence of novel viral pathogenic species.