Location: Endemic Poultry Viral Diseases Research
2017 Annual Report
Accomplishments
1. There has been a general concern in the poultry industry that maternally derived antibodies (MDA) against Newcastle disease virus (NDV) may interfere with the protection provided by recombinant NDV-vectored vaccines against NDV as well as any targeted avian pathogens included in the recombinant system. To address this concern, ARS researchers in Athens, Georgia, evaluated NDV LaSota vaccine strain-based recombinant viruses expressing the glycoproteins B (gB) or D (gD) of infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV) in broiler chickens in the presence of (MDA) against NDV. The results indicate that the presence of maternal antibodies to NDV and ILTV did not significantly interfere with the ability of the NDV LaSota strain-vectored ILTV gB and gD vaccine candidates to elicit protective immunity against infectious laryngotracheitis and Newcastle disease.
2. Our metagenomics (community-based) investigations of the enteric viral community in turkeys and chickens have revealed numerous novel viruses that may play roles in the performance problems and enteric syndromes observed in the field. Results obtained by ARS researchers in Athens, Georgia, during design of the streamlined sample preparation and the analysis pipeline have revealed novel enteric turkey and chicken picornaviruses—small RNA viruses that are common in the poultry gut and appear to be associated with enteric disease and performance problems. Phylogenetic analyses of the picornaviral RNA-dependent RNA-polymerase (RdRp) and capsid (VP3) genes suggest that flocks and even individual birds may be infected with more than one picornavirus strain. Many of these newly discovered viruses remain largely uncharacterized and may be present in some geographic regions and not others, and there may be unique and varied genotypes and pathotypes circulating in poultry flocks as well.
Review Publications
Wen, G., Li, L., Yu, Q., Wang, H., Luo, Q., Zhang, T., Zhang, R., Zhang, W., Shao, H. 2017. Evaluation of a thermostable Newcastle disease virus strain TS09-C as an in-ovo vaccine for chickens. PLoS One. 12(2):e0172812. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0172812.
Wu, Y., He, J., Geng, J., An, Y., Ye, X., Yan, S., Yu, Q., Yin, J., Zhang, Z., Li, D. 2017. Recombinant Newcastle disease virus expressing human TRAIL as a potential candidate for hepatoma therapy. European Journal of Pharmacology. 802:85–92. doi:org/10.1016/j.ejphar.2017.02.042.
Yu, Q., Spatz, S.J., Li, Y., Yang, J., Zhao, W., Zhang, Z., Wen, G., Garcia, M., Zsak, L. 2017. Newcastle disease virus vectored infectious laryngotracheitis vaccines protect commercial broiler chickens in the presence of maternally derived antibodies. Vaccine. 35(5):789-795. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2016.12.038.
Zhang, Z., Zhao, W., Li, D., Yang, J., Zsak, L., Yu, Q. 2015. Development of a Newcastle disease virus vector expressing a foreign gene through an internal ribosomal entry site provides direct proof for a sequential transcription mechanism. Journal of General Virology. 96:2028-2035. doi:10.1099/vir.0.000142.
Wu, Y., He, J., An, Y., Wang, X., Liu, Y., Yan, S., Ye, X., Qi, J., Zhu, S., Yu, Q., Yin, J., Li, D., Wang, W. 2016. Recombinant Newcastle disease virus (NDV/Anh-IL-2) expressing human IL-2 as a potential candidate for suppresses growth of hepatoma therapy. Journal of Pharmacological Sciences. 132(1):24-30. doi:10.1016/j.jphs.2016.03.012.
