title: Worldwide phylogenetic relationship of avian poxviruses.
abstract: Poxvirus infections have been found in 230 species of wild and domestic birds worldwide in both terrestrial and marine environments. This ubiquity raises the question of how infection has been transmitted and globally dispersed. We present a comprehensive global phylogeny of 111 novel poxvirus isolates in addition to all available sequences from GenBank. Phylogenetic analysis of the Avipoxvirus genus has traditionally relied on one gene region (4b core protein). In this study we expanded the analyses to include a second locus (DNA polymerase gene), allowing for a more robust phylogenetic framework, finer genetic resolution within specific groups, and the detection of potential recombination. Our phylogenetic results reveal several major features of avipoxvirus evolution and ecology and propose an updated avipoxvirus taxonomy, including three novel subclades. The characterization of poxviruses from 57 species of birds in this study extends the current knowledge of their host range and provides the first evidence of the phylogenetic effect of genetic recombination of avipoxviruses. The repeated occurrence of avian family or order-specific grouping within certain clades (e.g., starling poxvirus, falcon poxvirus, raptor poxvirus, etc.) indicates a marked role of host adaptation, while the sharing of poxvirus species within prey-predator systems emphasizes the capacity for cross-species infection and limited host adaptation. Our study provides a broad and comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of the Avipoxvirus genus, an ecologically and environmentally important viral group, to formulate a genome sequencing strategy that will clarify avipoxvirus taxonomy.
authors: Institute for Veterinary Medical Research, Centre for Agricultural Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary. m.gyuranecz@gmail.com
authors: Miklós
authors: M
authors: Gyuranecz
authors: Jeffrey T
authors: JT
authors: Foster
authors: Ádám
authors: Á
authors: Dán
authors: Hon S
authors: HS
authors: Ip
authors: Kristina F
authors: KF
authors: Egstad
authors: Patricia G
authors: PG
authors: Parker
authors: Jenni M
authors: JM
authors: Higashiguchi
authors: Michael A
authors: MA
authors: Skinner
authors: Ursula
authors: U
authors: Höfle
authors: Zsuzsa
authors: Z
authors: Kreizinger
authors: Gerry M
authors: GM
authors: Dorrestein
authors: Szabolcs
authors: S
authors: Solt
authors: Endre
authors: E
authors: Sós
authors: Young Jun
authors: YJ
authors: Kim
authors: Marcela
authors: M
authors: Uhart
authors: Ariel
authors: A
authors: Pereda
authors: Gisela
authors: G
authors: González-Hein
authors: Hector
authors: H
authors: Hidalgo
authors: Juan-Manuel
authors: JM
authors: Blanco
authors: Károly
authors: K
authors: Erdélyi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018150:Avipoxvirus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000821:virology*; D001717:Birds; D058507:Host Specificity; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D011213:Poxviridae Infections / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D011995:Recombination, Genetic