title: Nucleotide sequence analysis of a C1 gene fragment of psittacine beak and feather disease virus amplified by real-time polymerase chain reaction indicates a possible existence of genotypes.
abstract: To investigate sequence diversity of psittacine beak and feather disease virus, samples collected from 31 psittacine species with or without clinical signs were tested for the presence of the viral genome. A real-time polymerase chain reaction was developed amplifying a 202 base pair fragment of the region encoding the capsid protein C1 and detecting 100 to 1000 genome equivalents. The nucleotide sequences of the polymerase chain reaction products showed 84.1 to 100% identity with no consistent pattern with regard to the infected bird species. Amino acid exchanges were concentrated mainly in five of the 42 deduced positions. Sequences obtained from an outbreak of acute beak and feather disease in lories clustered in a separate branch of a phylogenetic tree. Sequences in samples from African grey parrots with feather disorders grouped together, whereas those from the same species with immunosuppression clustered in other branches. These results indicate the possible existence of beak and feather disease virus genotypes.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Leipzig, Germany. rraue@vetmed.uni-leipzig.de
authors.forename: Rüdiger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Raue
authors.forename: Reimar
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Johne
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Crosta
authors.forename: Marcellus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bürkle
authors.forename: Helga
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gerlach
authors.forename: Hermann
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Müller
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001502:Beak / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000821:virology*; D036022:Capsid Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D018173:Circoviridae Infections / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D017925:Circovirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005241:Feathers / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D005784:Gene Amplification; D014644:Genetic Variation; D016679:Genome, Viral; D005838:Genotype; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010311:Parrots / Q000145:classification / Q000821:virology; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D011563:Psittaciformes / Q000145:classification / Q000821:virology*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000662:veterinary; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
chemical_list: D036022:Capsid Proteins