title: Susceptibility and Antibody Response of the Laboratory Model Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata) to West Nile Virus.
abstract: Since the introduction of West Nile virus (WNV) into North America in 1999 a number of passerine bird species have been found to play a role in the amplification of the virus. Arbovirus surveillance, observational studies and experimental studies have implicated passerine birds (songbirds, e.g., crows, American robins, house sparrows, and house finches) as significant reservoirs of WNV in North America, yet we lack a tractable passerine animal model for controlled studies of the virus. The zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) serves as a model system across a diversity of fields, and here we develop the zebra finch a songbird model for WNV. Like many natural hosts of WNV, we found that zebra finches developed sufficient viremia to serve as a competent host, yet in general resisted mortality from infection. In the Australian zebra finch (AZF) T. g. castanotis, we detected WNV in the majority of sampled tissues by 4 days post injection (dpi). However, WNV was not detected in tissues of sacrificed birds at 14 dpi, shortly after the development of detectable anti-WNV antibodies in the majority of birds indicating successful viral clearance. We compared susceptibility between the two zebra finch subspecies AZF and Timor zebra finch (TZF) T. g. guttata. Compared to AZF, WNV RNA was detected in a larger proportion of challenged TZF and molecular detection of virus in the serum of TZF was significantly higher than in AZF. Given the observed moderate host competence and disease susceptibility, we suggest that zebra finches are appropriate as models for the study of WNV and although underutilized in this respect, may be ideal models for the study of the many diseases carried and transmitted by songbirds.
authors.affiliation: U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America.
authors.forename: Erik K
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2305-519X
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Hofmeister
authors.affiliation: U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America.
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lund
authors.affiliation: U.S. Geological Survey, National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America.
authors.forename: Valerie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Shearn-Bochsler
authors.affiliation: East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, United States of America.
authors.forename: Christopher N
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Balakrishnan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D000917:Antibody Formation; D001315:Australia; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D046369:Finches / Q000821:virology*; D007214:Indonesia; D008297:Male; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013045:Species Specificity; D014766:Viremia / Q000276:immunology*; D014901:West Nile Fever / Q000276:immunology*; D014902:West Nile virus / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral