title: Genetically diverse coronaviruses in captive bird populations in a Brazilian zoological park.
abstract: This study aimed to investigate the occurrence of coronaviruses (CoVs) in captive birds placed inside a zoological park in Brazil. The role of captive birds in the epidemiology of CoVs in the tropics is poorly understood. A total of 25 (n=25) different species were tested for viral RNA using individual fecal samples collected from healthy birds. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction targeting the 3' untranslated region was used to detect CoV RNA, and positive samples were submitted for sequence analysis. The phylogenetic search revealed nine mutations in the black shouldered peafowl (Pavus cristatus) CoV sequence, which clustered separately from samples previously described in England. This is the first report on the detection of the CoV genome in captive birds in Brazil.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Animal Virology, UNESP, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of São Paulo State, Araçatuba, Brazil. tcardoso@fmva.unesp.br
authors.forename: Tereza C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Cardoso
authors.forename: Maria Cecília B
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Teixeira
authors.forename: Deriane E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Gomes
authors.forename: Antônio José
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Jerez
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000836:Animals, Zoo / Q000821:virology*; D001483:Base Sequence; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000821:virology*; D001717:Birds; D001938:Brazil; D017934:Coronavirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D018352:Coronavirus Infections / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D014644:Genetic Variation; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016415:Sequence Alignment