Analysis of the Fusion Protein Cleavage Site of Newcastle disease virus Isolates from India Reveals Preliminary Evidence for the Existence of II, VI and VII Genotypes

Abstract

Newcastle disease virus (NDV) has been a threat to poultry industry in most of the developing countries with a wide variety of avian species being susceptible, coupled with the presence of mobile wild bird reservoirs contributing not only to the vast genomic diversity of this virus but also to the diagnostic failures. NDV of multiple genotypes (I-XI) is known to be prevalent and reported worldwide. However, there is a paucity of information on the circulating genotypes of NDV in India. This study utilized the fusion protein cleavage site (FPCS) sequence to determine the different genotypes of NDV circulating in India. Our results indicate that majority of NDV isolates from southern states of India namely, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka were found to belong to genotype II. However, some of the strains from Tamil Nadu and most from Uttar Pradesh belong to genotype groups VI and VII. Interestingly, three isolates recovered from Tamil Nadu grouped with genotype IV viruses (namely Herts/33) which had not been hitherto reported to GenBank since 1989. This preliminary information points to the existence of multiple genotypes and also the need for efficacy studies with vaccines incorporating multiple genotypes in controlling virulent NDV (vNDV) outbreaks in India.

Pathotypic and Sequence Characterization of Newcastle Disease Viruses from Vaccinated Chickens Reveals Circulation of Genotype II, IV and XIII and in India

“…This is the first report describing the presence of pathogenic viruses from NDV genotype XIII in India. The molecular epidemiology of NDV viruses in India is poorly understood, with few published studies (Nanthakumar et al., ; Tirumurugaan et al., ; Kumar et al., ) and limited surveillance in only a small number of states including Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka. It is evident that increased reporting and molecular surveillance of NDV across India will reveal increased genetic diversity of these viruses and may result in the identification of additional genotypes.…”

“…Earlier studies utilizing monoclonal antibodies on Indian strains have indicated that there are unusual antigenic types in our country, thereby extending the support for vaccine failures (Kumanan et al., ; Roy et al., ). However, the molecular characteristics of circulating NDV strains in India are largely unknown with recent reports indicating the circulation of multiple genotypes based on the FPCS (Tirumurugaan et al., ). Continuous surveillance of prevalent NDVs will improve understanding of the molecular epidemiology of those NDVs circulating in the environment and can ultimately lead to effective control of ND in India.…”

Detection and molecular characterization of Newcastle disease virus in peafowl (Pavo cristatus) in Haryana State, India

“…Both Indian strains as reported by Vijayarani et al [28], and the one used in this study had two cleavage-site sequences that were each consistent with a virulent pathotype and valogenic nature of the virus. Circulation of multiple genotypes of NDV in India has been recently reported based on the FPCS [27].…”

“…To the best of our knowledge perhaps is the first confirmatory report of presence of genotype VII from Peacocks in India based on F gene phylogeny and FPCS sequence. Although Tirumurugaan et al [27] has recently described the presence of genotype VII in different bird species (other than peacocks) in India employing the FPCS sequence classification system. In the class II NDV, the genotypes namely V, VI, VII and VIII have been shown to possess only the virulent viruses and indicated to be the predominant genotypes circulating world-wide [23].…”

“…In the class II NDV, the genotypes namely V, VI, VII and VIII have been shown to possess only the virulent viruses and indicated to be the predominant genotypes circulating world-wide [23]. The genotypes V, VI, VII, VIII and X have been reported to have emerged after 1960 [27,29].…”