title: Low-pathogenic avian influenza virus A/turkey/Ontario/6213/1966 (H5N1) is the progenitor of highly pathogenic A/turkey/Ontario/7732/1966 (H5N9).
abstract: The first confirmed outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus infections in North America was caused by A/turkey/Ontario/7732/1966 (H5N9); however, the phylogeny of this virus is largely unknown. This study performed genomic sequence analysis of 11 avian influenza isolates from 1956 to 1979 for comparison with A/turkey/Ontario/7732/1966 (H5N9). Phylogenetic and genetic analyses included these viruses in combination with all known full-genome sequences of avian viruses isolated before 1981. It was shown that a low-pathogenic avian influenza virus, A/turkey/Ontario/6213/1966 (H5N1), that had been isolated 3 months previously, was the closest known genetic relative with six genome segments of common lineage encoding the polymerase subunits PB2, PB1 and PA, nucleoprotein (NP), haemagglutinin (HA) and non-structural (NS) proteins. The lineages of these genome segments included reassortment with other North American turkey viruses that were all rooted in North American wild waterfowl with the HA gene originating from the H5N2 serotype. The phylogenies demonstrated adaptation from North American wild birds to turkeys with the possible involvement of domestic waterfowl. The turkey isolate, A/turkey/Wisconsin/1968 (H5N9), was the second most closely related poultry isolate to A/turkey/Ontario/7732/1966 (H5N9), possessing five common lineage genome segments (PB2, PB1, PA, HA and neuraminidase). The A/turkey/Ontario/6213/1966 (H5N1) virus was more virulent than A/turkey/Wisconsin/68 (H5N9) for chicken embryos and mice, indicating a greater biological similarity to A/turkey/Ontario/7732/1966 (H5N9). Thus, A/turkey/Ontario/6213/1966 (H5N1) was identified as the closest known ancestral relative of HPAI A/turkey/Ontario/7732/1966 (H5N9), which will serve as a useful reference virus for characterizing the early genetic and biological properties associated with the emergence of pathogenic avian influenza strains.
authors.affiliation: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Canadian Influenza Pathogenesis Team, University of Ottawa, 451 Smyth Rd, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.|Emerging Pathogens Research Centre, University of Ottawa, 451 Smyth Rd, Ottawa, Ontario K1H 8M5, Canada.|Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, 451 Smyth Rd, Ottawa, Ontario K1H 8M5, Canada.
authors.forename: Jihui
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ping
authors.affiliation: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Canadian Influenza Pathogenesis Team, University of Ottawa, 451 Smyth Rd, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.|Emerging Pathogens Research Centre, University of Ottawa, 451 Smyth Rd, Ottawa, Ontario K1H 8M5, Canada.|Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, 451 Smyth Rd, Ottawa, Ontario K1H 8M5, Canada.
authors.forename: Mohammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Selman
authors.affiliation: National Microbiology Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Health, Winnipeg, Canada.
authors.forename: Shaun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tyler
authors.affiliation: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Canadian Influenza Pathogenesis Team, University of Ottawa, 451 Smyth Rd, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.|Emerging Pathogens Research Centre, University of Ottawa, 451 Smyth Rd, Ottawa, Ontario K1H 8M5, Canada.|Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, 451 Smyth Rd, Ottawa, Ontario K1H 8M5, Canada.
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Forbes
authors.affiliation: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Canadian Influenza Pathogenesis Team, University of Ottawa, 451 Smyth Rd, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.|Emerging Pathogens Research Centre, University of Ottawa, 451 Smyth Rd, Ottawa, Ontario K1H 8M5, Canada.|Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, 451 Smyth Rd, Ottawa, Ontario K1H 8M5, Canada.
authors.forename: Liya
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Keleta
authors.affiliation: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Canadian Influenza Pathogenesis Team, University of Ottawa, 451 Smyth Rd, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.|Emerging Pathogens Research Centre, University of Ottawa, 451 Smyth Rd, Ottawa, Ontario K1H 8M5, Canada.|Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, 451 Smyth Rd, Ottawa, Ontario K1H 8M5, Canada.
authors.forename: Earl G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002642:Chick Embryo; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D015967:Gene Expression Regulation, Viral; D016679:Genome, Viral; D006388:Hemagglutinins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D053124:Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D005585:Influenza in Birds / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009656:North America / Q000453:epidemiology; D010802:Phylogeny; D011200:Poultry; D016865:Reassortant Viruses / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D006388:Hemagglutinins