title: Phylogenetic analysis of Newcastle disease viruses isolated from asymptomatic guinea fowls (Numida meleagris) and Muscovy ducks (Cariana moscata) in Nigeria.
abstract: Four Newcastle disease virus isolates were recovered from asymptomatic guinea fowl (Numida meleagris galeata) and Muscovy ducks (Cariana moscata). For the purpose of molecular identification and phylogeny, phylogenetic characterization was performed to identify the pathotypes. All four viruses had a cleavage motif (112)RRQKRF(117) which is characteristic of virulent strains. The isolates grouped with viruses previously reported as sub-lineage 5 g from chickens in Nigeria. This study report for the first time the identification of the virulent sub-lineage 5 g Newcastle disease virus from apparently healthy guinea fowl and domestic ducks in Nigeria, and since infections were sub-clinical, it suggest that these species could play a role in the spread and transmission of virulent Newcastle disease virus that can infect other poultry. The isolation and identification of virulent Newcastle disease virus in these unusual hosts and the high sequence similarity (99.3-100 %) between viruses in this study with strains reported for Niger and Cameroun gives insights into the ecology of virulent Newcastle disease viruses and suggests some cross-border movement and trade in live poultry.
authors.affiliation: National Veterinary Research Institute, P O Box 01, Vom, Nigeria. yponman@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Ponman
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Solomon
authors.forename: Shahn
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bisschop
authors.forename: Tony Manuel
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Joannis
authors.forename: Ismail
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Shittu
authors.forename: Clement
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Meseko
authors.forename: Lanre
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sulaiman
authors.forename: Dorcas
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gado
authors.forename: Agnes Tinuke
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Oladokun
authors.forename: Kayode Abraham
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Olawuyi
authors.forename: Celia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Abolnik
mesh_terms: D020816:Amino Acid Motifs / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004372:Ducks / Q000821:virology*; D004587:Electrophoresis, Agar Gel / Q000662:veterinary; D046094:Galliformes / Q000821:virology*; D008957:Models, Genetic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009522:Newcastle disease virus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D009549:Nigeria; D010802:Phylogeny; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000662:veterinary; D017385:Sequence Homology