Coronaviruses in diarrheic pigeons and the first determination of the complete genome of a new pigeon gammacoronavirus

Abstract Members of Orthocoronavirinae subfamily are common among avian species and responsible for diseases in poultry. Unfortunately, knowledge of their diversity and potential pathogenic influence in pigeons is so far scarce. This study describes the first determination of a complete genomic sequ...

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Main Authors: Ewa Łukaszuk, Daria Dziewulska, Arvind Varsani, Tomasz Stenzel
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-05-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-03252-9
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author Ewa Łukaszuk
Daria Dziewulska
Arvind Varsani
Tomasz Stenzel
author_facet Ewa Łukaszuk
Daria Dziewulska
Arvind Varsani
Tomasz Stenzel
author_sort Ewa Łukaszuk
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Members of Orthocoronavirinae subfamily are common among avian species and responsible for diseases in poultry. Unfortunately, knowledge of their diversity and potential pathogenic influence in pigeons is so far scarce. This study describes the first determination of a complete genomic sequence of a member of Gammacoronavirus genus in pigeons, likely representing new species within the Igacovirus subgenus. The newly obtained sequence appears to be closely related to partial gammacoronavirus sequences identified in pigeons from Poland, Spain, Finland and China, which highlights the wide geographical distribution of this virus. Direct quantitative analysis was performed in sampled pigeons to assess the potential connection of the presence of the virus and the occurrence of enteric disease, and while no statistically significant difference in the viral genome copy numbers was found between the diseased and healthy group, the similar detection rate in both groups is noteworthy. This result obtained from the analysis of 153 cloacal swab samples suggests that the presence of the virus likely is not associated with the occurrence of disease in their host. The study accentuates the need to further study the coronaviruses of avian origin especially considering the seemingly often occurrence of asymptomatic coronaviral infections and their broad geographical distribution.
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spelling doaj-art-6806aa8d600f43f8b67941f86a75be222025-08-24T11:22:18ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-05-0115111010.1038/s41598-025-03252-9Coronaviruses in diarrheic pigeons and the first determination of the complete genome of a new pigeon gammacoronavirusEwa Łukaszuk0Daria Dziewulska1Arvind Varsani2Tomasz Stenzel3Department of Poultry Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Warmia and Mazury in OlsztynDepartment of Poultry Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Warmia and Mazury in OlsztynBiodesign Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics, Center for Evolution and Medicine, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State UniversityDepartment of Poultry Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Warmia and Mazury in OlsztynAbstract Members of Orthocoronavirinae subfamily are common among avian species and responsible for diseases in poultry. Unfortunately, knowledge of their diversity and potential pathogenic influence in pigeons is so far scarce. This study describes the first determination of a complete genomic sequence of a member of Gammacoronavirus genus in pigeons, likely representing new species within the Igacovirus subgenus. The newly obtained sequence appears to be closely related to partial gammacoronavirus sequences identified in pigeons from Poland, Spain, Finland and China, which highlights the wide geographical distribution of this virus. Direct quantitative analysis was performed in sampled pigeons to assess the potential connection of the presence of the virus and the occurrence of enteric disease, and while no statistically significant difference in the viral genome copy numbers was found between the diseased and healthy group, the similar detection rate in both groups is noteworthy. This result obtained from the analysis of 153 cloacal swab samples suggests that the presence of the virus likely is not associated with the occurrence of disease in their host. The study accentuates the need to further study the coronaviruses of avian origin especially considering the seemingly often occurrence of asymptomatic coronaviral infections and their broad geographical distribution.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-03252-9CoronavirusddPCRGammacoronavirusOxford nanopore sequencingPigeonPhylogenetic analysis
spellingShingle Ewa Łukaszuk
Daria Dziewulska
Arvind Varsani
Tomasz Stenzel
Coronaviruses in diarrheic pigeons and the first determination of the complete genome of a new pigeon gammacoronavirus
Scientific Reports
Coronavirus
ddPCR
Gammacoronavirus
Oxford nanopore sequencing
Pigeon
Phylogenetic analysis
title Coronaviruses in diarrheic pigeons and the first determination of the complete genome of a new pigeon gammacoronavirus
title_full Coronaviruses in diarrheic pigeons and the first determination of the complete genome of a new pigeon gammacoronavirus
title_fullStr Coronaviruses in diarrheic pigeons and the first determination of the complete genome of a new pigeon gammacoronavirus
title_full_unstemmed Coronaviruses in diarrheic pigeons and the first determination of the complete genome of a new pigeon gammacoronavirus
title_short Coronaviruses in diarrheic pigeons and the first determination of the complete genome of a new pigeon gammacoronavirus
title_sort coronaviruses in diarrheic pigeons and the first determination of the complete genome of a new pigeon gammacoronavirus
topic Coronavirus
ddPCR
Gammacoronavirus
Oxford nanopore sequencing
Pigeon
Phylogenetic analysis
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-03252-9
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