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Characterization of infectious laryngotracheitis virus isolates from laying hens during 2019–2020 outbreaks in Tamil Nadu, India

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Abstract

Infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT) is an acute respiratory disease in chickens that is a serious threat to poultry-producing countries worldwide. In the present study, we isolated and characterized infectious laryngotracheitis (ILTV) virus isolates by sequencing and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of PCR-amplified products (PCR-RFLP). A total of 26 ILTV outbreaks were investigated that occurred between 2019 and 2020 in flocks that had not been vaccinated against ILTV. ILTV was isolated by cultivating tracheal samples in embryonated chicken eggs, which showed multiple opaque pock lesions and thickening of the chorioallantoic membrane after 120 hours of infection. The ILTV isolates were identified and characterized by PCR and sequencing a portion of the ICP4 and TK genes. Phylogenetic analysis based on the ICP4 region showed that the sequences clustered with chicken-embryo-origin vaccine-like strains. Sequence analysis of the ICP4 region differentiated chicken-embryo-origin (CEO), tissue-culture-origin (TCO), and field ILTV strains, with significant differences in nucleotide and amino acid sequences. Furthermore, PCR–RFLP analysis of the TK gene showed that the patterns were identical to those obtained with low-virulence and vaccine strains. In conclusion, sequencing of a portion of the ICP4 region of ILTV allowed differentiation of ILTV field, CEO, and TCO vaccine strains. In this study, CEO-vaccine-like strains were found to be the cause of ILTV outbreaks between 2019 and 2020 in Tamil Nadu in southern India.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS), Chennai-51, India, for granting approval, necessary facilities, and funds to carry out this research work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Veterinary College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Namakkal, Tamil Nadu, 637 002, India

    P. Ponnusamy, K. Sukumar, A. Raja, S. Saravanan & A. Thangavelu

  2. Department of Veterinary Pathology, Veterinary College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Namakkal, Tamil Nadu, 637 002, India

    P. Srinivasan

Authors
  1. P. Ponnusamy
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  2. K. Sukumar
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  3. A. Raja
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  4. S. Saravanan
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  5. P. Srinivasan
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  6. A. Thangavelu
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Contributions

PP performed the research and wrote the manuscript as a part of his Ph.D. research work. PP, KS, AR, SS, and PS designed the study. KS, AR, and AT supervised the study and corrected the manuscript. SS and PS assisted in sample collection.

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Correspondence to P. Ponnusamy.

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Ponnusamy, P., Sukumar, K., Raja, A. et al. Characterization of infectious laryngotracheitis virus isolates from laying hens during 2019–2020 outbreaks in Tamil Nadu, India. Arch Virol 167, 1819–1829 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-022-05485-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-022-05485-9

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