title: Complete sequence of a duck astrovirus associated with fatal hepatitis in ducklings.
abstract: Duck astroviruses (DAstVs) are known to cause duck viral hepatitis; however, little is known regarding their molecular biology. Here, we report the complete sequence of a DAstV associated with a recent outbreak of fatal hepatitis in ducklings in China. Sequence analyses indicated that the genome of DAstV possessed a typical astrovirus organization and also exhibited two unique features. The polyadenylated genome comprised 7722 nt, which is the largest among astroviruses sequenced to date. The ORF2 of DAstV was not in the same reading frame as either ORF1a or ORF1b, which was distinct from all other astroviruses. Sequence comparisons and phylogenetic analyses revealed that DAstV was more closely related to turkey astrovirus (TAstV) type 2, TAstV-3 and TAstV/MN/01 (a possible new TAstV serotype) than to TAstV-1 or other astroviruses. These findings suggest that astroviruses may transmit across ducks and turkeys.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Zoonosis of Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, PR China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Zoonosis of Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, PR China.
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Zoonosis of Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, PR China.
authors.forename: Xiaoyan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Zoonosis of Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, PR China.
authors.forename: Yongliang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Zoonosis of Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, PR China.
authors.forename: Xiaoyu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Institute for Animal Health, Pirbright Laboratory, Ash Road, Pirbright, Woking, Surrey GU24 0NF, UK.
authors.forename: Nick J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Knowles
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Zoonosis of Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, PR China.
authors.forename: Hanchun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Zoonosis of Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, PR China.
authors.forename: Dabing
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D019350:Astroviridae Infections / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D052676:Avastrovirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000737:chemistry; D004372:Ducks; D006524:Hepatitis, Viral, Animal / Q000401:mortality / Q000821:virology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000821:virology*; D016415:Sequence Alignment / Q000662:veterinary
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral