Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2022, Vol. 53 ›› Issue (11): 4116-4122.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2022.11.038

• RESEARCH NOTES • Previous Articles    

Genetic Characterization and Evolution of Three Strains of H3N2 Avian Influenza Viruses

CUI Mingxian, WANG Xingbo, HUANG Yanming, BIAN Xiyi, FENG Mengke, YAN Yan, DONG Weiren, ZHOU Jiyong*   

  1. Key Laboratory of Animal Virology of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Center of Veterinary Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
  • Received:2022-04-21 Online:2022-11-23 Published:2022-11-25

Abstract: To understand the prevalence and variation of the H3N2 subtype avian influenza virus (AIV) in poultry in Zhejiang province, RT-PCR technology was utilized to detect a total of 923 samples from Zhejiang province in 2021, the isolated AIVs were subjected to molecular characteristics and genetic evolution analysis. The results showed that the positive rate of AIV in Zhejiang province in 2021 was 7.69% (71/923), 2 chicken-derived AIVs and 1 duck-derived H3N2 subtype AIVs were isolated, and their HA and NA genes homology were 93.4%-100% and 94.0%-99.9%, respectively. The origins of the internal gene fragments of the isolated AIVs were complex, and they were closely related to subtypes such as H1N2, H1N4, and H10N7. The genetic evolution analysis showed that H3N2 subtype AIV was mainly prevalent in East China, and the duck was its main host. The HA and NA genes of the three H3N2 subtype isolates belonged to avian-derived evolutionary branches. Amino acid analysis revealed that the cleavage site of HA protein was PEKQTR↓GLF, which was in line with the characteristics of the low pathogenic AIV. The 226Q and 228G of HA protein as well as the 627E of PB2 protein, which was related to receptor binding and mammalian adaptability respectively, were consistent with those of AIV, suggesting that the cross-species transmission to mammals appeared unlikely. However, amino acid 66 was mutated to S in the PB1 protein might increase the pathogenicity in mammals and need to be further investigated. In summary, the H3N2 subtype AIVs isolated in this study were consistent with the characteristics of low pathogenic avian influenza virus, and the origins of the gene fragments were complex. The potential of the isolates for cross-species transmission to humans was low, but whether they affect the pathogenicity of the host remains to be further explored in the near future.

Key words: H3N2-subtype avian influenza virus, Zhejiang province, genetic evolution, amino acid variation

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