title: Isolation and characterization of a herpesvirus from feral pigeons in China.
abstract: A herpesvirus was isolated during a diagnostic investigation of severe cases of conjunctivitis in feral pigeons (Columba livia f. domestica). Isolates of the virus were recovered from throat swabs of the pigeons followed by inoculation of the swab samples in chicken embryo fibroblasts. Pigeons inoculated with the isolated virus had similar clinical signs to those observed in naturally infected birds. Transmission electron microscopy revealed viral structures with typical herpesvirus morphology. Polymerase chain reaction amplification, using herpesvirus-identifying primers resulted in an amplicon of the expected size for herpesvirus. Sequencing of these amplicons and database comparisons identified the herpesvirus UL30 homologue. Phylogenetic reconstructions suggested that the isolated herpesvirus belongs to the Mardivirus genus of Alphaherpesvirinae. Using the current herpesvirus nomenclature conventions, the authors propose that the herpesvirus be named Columbid herpesvirus-1 Heilongjiang.
authors.affiliation: College of Wildlife Resources, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150040, China.
authors.forename: Panpan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: College of Wildlife Resources, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150040, China; State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Biotechnology, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150001, China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: College of Wildlife Resources, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150040, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: College of Wildlife Resources, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150040, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.affiliation: College of Wildlife Resources, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150040, China.
authors.forename: Guangyang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: College of Wildlife Resources, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150040, China.
authors.forename: Kexin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Wildlife Resources, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, Heilongjiang 150040, China. Electronic address: xingmingweinefu@sina.com.
authors.forename: Mingwei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xing
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000821:virology*; D002681:China; D010856:Columbidae / Q000821:virology*; D005814:Genes, Viral; D006564:Herpesviridae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology
keywords: Columba livia f. dom; Herpesvirus; Phylogenetic analysis; Polymerase chain reaction; Transmission electron microscopy