Discovery and Genomic Characterisation of Novel Papillomaviruses in Australian Wild Birds
Papillomaviruses are small, circular DNA viruses that infect epithelial and mucosal cells, which have co-evolved with their hosts over time. While certain mammalian papillomaviruses—especially those linked to disease—are well studied, there is limited knowledge about papillomaviruses associated with...
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2025-05-01
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| author | Subir Sarker Vasilli Kasimov Md. Mizanur Rahaman Babu Kanti Nath Martina Jelocnik |
| author_facet | Subir Sarker Vasilli Kasimov Md. Mizanur Rahaman Babu Kanti Nath Martina Jelocnik |
| author_sort | Subir Sarker |
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| description | Papillomaviruses are small, circular DNA viruses that infect epithelial and mucosal cells, which have co-evolved with their hosts over time. While certain mammalian papillomaviruses—especially those linked to disease—are well studied, there is limited knowledge about papillomaviruses associated with avian species. In this study, we identified two avian papillomaviruses from eye/choana swabs of the sacred kingfisher (<i>Todiramphus sanctus</i>) and the little corella (<i>Cacatua sanguinea</i>), collected in Queensland, Australia. The genomes of these viruses, designated as todiramphus sanctus papillomavirus 1 (TsPV1) and cacatua sanguinea papillomavirus 1 (CsPV1), were found to be 7883 and 7825 base pairs in length, respectively. The TsPV1 and CsPV1 genomes exhibited the highest nucleotide sequence identity (>56%) with papillomavirus genomes previously sequenced from mallards or wild ducks in the United States, followed by those from black-legged kittiwakes and Atlantic puffins (>54%) in Newfoundland, Canada. Both TsPV1 and CsPV1 share approximately a 65% nucleotide sequence identity in the L1 gene with anas platyrhynchos papillomavirus 3 (AplaPV3), indicating that they represent novel avian papillomaviruses. Notably, the two genomes in this study were nearly identical (99.69%), and their L1 proteins shared 100% sequence identity. Phylogenetic analysis positioned TsPV1 and CsPV1 within a clade of avian papillomaviruses associated with closely related avian hosts, including the mallard, African grey parrot, common chaffinch, and Atlantic canary. These findings underscore the importance of further research on studying additional Australian bird species longitudinally, which will help to establish potential disease associations and ecological impacts of previously unrecognised and novel papillomaviruses in Australian wild birds. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2076-0817 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Pathogens |
| spelling | doaj-art-7a7f483b758d4c88af80980c2d87ca1f2025-08-20T02:21:57ZengMDPI AGPathogens2076-08172025-05-0114651410.3390/pathogens14060514Discovery and Genomic Characterisation of Novel Papillomaviruses in Australian Wild BirdsSubir Sarker0Vasilli Kasimov1Md. Mizanur Rahaman2Babu Kanti Nath3Martina Jelocnik4Biomedical Sciences & Molecular Biology, College of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, AustraliaInstitute for Biomedicine and Glycomics, Griffith University, Southport, QLD 4215, AustraliaBiomedical Sciences & Molecular Biology, College of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, AustraliaBiosecurity Research Program and Training Centre, Gulbali Institute, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2678, AustraliaSchool of Science, Technology and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, QLD 4557, AustraliaPapillomaviruses are small, circular DNA viruses that infect epithelial and mucosal cells, which have co-evolved with their hosts over time. While certain mammalian papillomaviruses—especially those linked to disease—are well studied, there is limited knowledge about papillomaviruses associated with avian species. In this study, we identified two avian papillomaviruses from eye/choana swabs of the sacred kingfisher (<i>Todiramphus sanctus</i>) and the little corella (<i>Cacatua sanguinea</i>), collected in Queensland, Australia. The genomes of these viruses, designated as todiramphus sanctus papillomavirus 1 (TsPV1) and cacatua sanguinea papillomavirus 1 (CsPV1), were found to be 7883 and 7825 base pairs in length, respectively. The TsPV1 and CsPV1 genomes exhibited the highest nucleotide sequence identity (>56%) with papillomavirus genomes previously sequenced from mallards or wild ducks in the United States, followed by those from black-legged kittiwakes and Atlantic puffins (>54%) in Newfoundland, Canada. Both TsPV1 and CsPV1 share approximately a 65% nucleotide sequence identity in the L1 gene with anas platyrhynchos papillomavirus 3 (AplaPV3), indicating that they represent novel avian papillomaviruses. Notably, the two genomes in this study were nearly identical (99.69%), and their L1 proteins shared 100% sequence identity. Phylogenetic analysis positioned TsPV1 and CsPV1 within a clade of avian papillomaviruses associated with closely related avian hosts, including the mallard, African grey parrot, common chaffinch, and Atlantic canary. These findings underscore the importance of further research on studying additional Australian bird species longitudinally, which will help to establish potential disease associations and ecological impacts of previously unrecognised and novel papillomaviruses in Australian wild birds.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/14/6/514papillomavirusgenomicsevolutionphylogeneticswild birds |
| spellingShingle | Subir Sarker Vasilli Kasimov Md. Mizanur Rahaman Babu Kanti Nath Martina Jelocnik Discovery and Genomic Characterisation of Novel Papillomaviruses in Australian Wild Birds Pathogens papillomavirus genomics evolution phylogenetics wild birds |
| title | Discovery and Genomic Characterisation of Novel Papillomaviruses in Australian Wild Birds |
| title_full | Discovery and Genomic Characterisation of Novel Papillomaviruses in Australian Wild Birds |
| title_fullStr | Discovery and Genomic Characterisation of Novel Papillomaviruses in Australian Wild Birds |
| title_full_unstemmed | Discovery and Genomic Characterisation of Novel Papillomaviruses in Australian Wild Birds |
| title_short | Discovery and Genomic Characterisation of Novel Papillomaviruses in Australian Wild Birds |
| title_sort | discovery and genomic characterisation of novel papillomaviruses in australian wild birds |
| topic | papillomavirus genomics evolution phylogenetics wild birds |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/14/6/514 |
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