Adenovirus of psittacine birds: Investigations on isolation and development of a real-time PCR for specific detection

Dörte Lüschow (1) , Christina Prusas , Michael Lierz (2) , Helga Gerlach , Dirk Soike , Hafez Mohamed Hafez (3)

1 Freie Universität Berlin
2 Institute for Poultry Diseases
3 Institute of Poultry Diseases

Liver samples of psittacine birds with a histological suspicion of an adenovirus infection, confirmed by electron microscopy examination, were subjected to virus isolation using a heterologous and a homologous cell culture system in form of chicken embryo liver (CEL) cells and psittacine embryo fibroblasts (PsEF), respectively. Whereas isolation in CEL cells failed, virus was isolated successfully in the PsEF cell culture system. Molecular investigations identified the virus as a specific psittacine adenovirus (PsAdV). Additionally, on the basis of obtained hexon gene sequence data a real-time PCR for specific detection of PsAdV was developed. To ensure an exclusive hybridisation with PsAdV selected primers were located within the variable L1 region of the hexon gene. Furthermore, the specificity of the real-time PCR was confirmed by investigation of a panel of different avian adenoviruses and unrelated DNA viruses. Using this PCR obtained Ct values support the propagation of PsAdV in the homologous cell culture system in comparison to the chicken cell culture system. Moreover, the developed PCR represents a reliable method for specific and sensitive detection of PsAdV in clinical samples.

Mots clés: Life Sciences

Dörte Lüschow, Christina Prusas, Michael Lierz, Helga Gerlach, Dirk Soike, et al.. Adenovirus of psittacine birds: Investigations on isolation and development of a real-time PCR for specific detection. Avian Pathology, 2007, 36 (06), pp.487-494. ⟨10.1080/03079450701691260⟩. ⟨hal-00540100⟩