Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2022, Vol. 53 ›› Issue (9): 3107-3120.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2022.09.025

• PREVENTIVE VETERINARY MEDICINE • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Isolation,Identification and Genetic Evolution Analysis of a Subgroup E Avian Leukemia Virus

WANG Meng1, ZHANG Senhao1, ZHANG Liu1, LI Jiaxuan1,2, WANG Xiaona1,2, CUI Wen1,2, JIANG Yanping1,2, ZHOU Han1,2, WANG Li1,2, QIAO Xinyuan1,2, LI Yijing1,2, TANG Lijie1,2*   

  1. 1. College of Veterinary Medicines, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China;
    2. Northeast Scientific Inspection Observation Station, Key Laboratory of Animal Pathogen Biology of Ministry of Agriculture, Harbin 150030, China
  • Received:2021-12-22 Online:2022-09-23 Published:2022-09-23

Abstract: Avian leukemia (leukosis) virus subgroup E (ALV-E) refers to endogenous retroviral genomic DNA or fragments present in chicken chromosomes. ALV-E with transcriptional activity will not only have a negative impact on chicken production performance (body weight and egg production), but also interfere with the differential diagnosis of exogenous ALV at the antibody level. In order to isolate and identify an avian leukosis virus RT-PCR positive disease material in a chicken farm in Heilongjiang Province and analyze its genome characteristics and genetic evolution, the virus culture was identified and analyzed by molecular biology, virus morphology and whole genome sequencing. Results showed that the virus could be stably subcultured to the nine generation in CEF cells. Virus particles with approximate spherical shape, diameter of about 80 nm, capsule and fiber structure could be observed using electron microscopy. It was named HLJE2020 strain. Sequence analysis showed that gag and pol genes in the whole genome sequences were relatively conserved. LTR and env genes belong to the same evolutionary branch with ALV-E, while gp85 gene had high homology with ALV-E and ALV-B. Genetic evolution analysis combined with the analysis results of RDPv.4 and SimPlot software showed that there was a separate branch between ALV-E and ALV-B. It is speculated that the gp85 gene of this virus may be recombined with subgroup E AF229 and subgroup B SDAU09C1. This study can provide data for understanding the genetic evolution of avian leukemia virus genome, and provide references and basis for ALV prevention and control.

Key words: avian leukemia virus, isolation and identification, genome analysis, strain of recombinant subgroup E

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