title: Detection of circovirus infection in pigeons by in situ hybridization using cloned DNA probes.
abstract: Degenerate primers were designed based on known sequence information for the circoviruses psittacine beak and feather disease virus and porcine circovirus and applied by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to known virus-infected bursa of Fabricius (BF) from a pigeon. A 548-bp DNA fragment was amplified and shown to be specific to a novel circovirus, named pigeon circovirus (PiCV), and was used to produce sensitive and specific probes for detection of circovirus DNA by in situ hybridization (ISH). Using ISH on BF from 107 pigeons submitted for necropsy, infection was detected in 89%, compared with a histologic detection rate of 66%. Using the ISH technique, infected cells were also found in liver, kidney, trachea, lung, brain, crop, intestine, spleen, bone marrow, and heart of some birds. Large quantities of DNA were present in some of these tissues, and in the absence of BF, liver in particular is identified as a potentially useful organ to examine for presence of PiCV. This high prevalence of infection in diseased birds is noteworthy, emphasizing the need for studies to determine the precise role of this virus as a disease-producing agent.
authors.affiliation: Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for Northern Ireland, Belfast.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Smyth
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Weston
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Moffett
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Todd
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001344:Autopsy / Q000662:veterinary; D018173:Circoviridae Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000662:veterinary*; D017925:Circovirus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D010856:Columbidae / Q000821:virology*; D015342:DNA Probes; D017403:In Situ Hybridization / Q000662:veterinary*; D008099:Liver / Q000821:virology; D021141:Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D015342:DNA Probes