Abstract
A novel strain of H3N8 influenza virus was isolated from domestic pigeons during the avian influenza virus (AIV) surveillance in wet markets in Anhui, China, during 2013. The virus was characterized by whole-genome sequencing with subsequent genetic comparison and phylogenetic analysis. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the NA gene of AIV mapped to the North American lineage, and the remaining seven genes belong to a Eurasian lineage. These findings indicated that this H3N8 virus is a novel nature reassortant virus. Comparison of the hemagglutinin amino acid sequences indicated 9 substitutions. One substitution caused the loss of a potential glycosylation site, and six substitutions were not previously observed in avian H3 isolates. Q226 and T228 at the receptor binding sites suggested that Anhui-08 preferentially binds to a-2,3-linked sialic acid receptors, and the cleavage site sequence showed a low pathogenic feature. Animal experiments further confirmed that A/pigeon/Anhui/08/2013 (H3N8) is low or in pigeons. The results improve our understanding of these viruses as they evolve and also provide important information to aid ongoing risk assessment analyses because these zoonotic influenza viruses continue to circulate and adapt to new hosts.
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Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the Open Fund for the State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology (AMLKF-201210). The authors especially acknowledge Prof. Yanxiu Liu (College of Foreign Languages, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, P. R China.) for editing the manuscript.
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Edited by Keizo Tomonaga.
Zhong Zou and Sunrui Chen have contributed equally to this work.
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Zou, Z., Chen, S., Liu, Z. et al. Identification and genetic analysis of H3N8 subtype influenza viruses isolated from domestic pigeons in Central China. Virus Genes 52, 38–50 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11262-015-1261-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11262-015-1261-2