Isolation and Characterization of A Novel Fowl Adenovirus Serotype 8a Strain from China

Since 2012, the clinical cases of inclusion body hepatitis showed an increasing trend in China, causing considerable economic losses to the poultry industry. In this study, a fowl adenovirus strain CH/GDLZ/201801 was isolated from a chicken flock experiencing inclusion body hepatitis and analyzed by complete genome sequencing. The pathogenicity of the new virus strain was examined by experimental infection of specific pathogen free chickens. The isolate was identified by immunofluorescence and the virions presented typical icosahedral particles under transmission electron microscopy. The full genome of the isolate was 44,329 nucleotides in length with 58% G+C content. Phylogenetic analysis, based on the whole genome, revealed that the new isolate was closest to serotype 8a from the species Fowl aviadenovirus E (FAdV-E). Recombination analysis and phylogenetic analysis showed that the new isolate is a recombinant strain between FAdV-8a and FAdV-8b. In infection experiments, three infected chickens showed clinical signs and one chicken died on day 7 post infection, corresponding to 5% mortality. Macroscopic and microscopic lesions in the liver were observed, and viral antigen could be detected in the livers by immunohistochemical staining and TEM. Taken together, our study describes the genomic characteristics and pathogenicity of a FAdV-8a strain in China. It would lay a solid foundation for further study of the pathogenic mechanism and vaccine development of the virus.