Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 27, 2026

Rapid Diagnosis of Avian Influenza Virus in Wild Birds: Use of a Portable rRT-PCR and Freeze-dried Reagents in the Field
Published on: August 2, 2011
Evidence for specificity of psittacine beak and feather disease viruses among avian hosts
Peter A Ritchie1, Ian L Anderson, David M Lambert
1Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology and Evolution, Institute of Molecular BioSciences, Massey University, Private Bag 11-222, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
Abstract:
Beak and feather disease is a major avian disease of both captive and wild parrot and cockatoo populations. Clinical signs include beak elongation and abnormal growth, together with weight loss and in some individuals the disease is fatal. We investigated the relationship between viral genotypes and their hosts in order to test for a positive association between distinct viral genomes and avian species. Specifically, we used the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to amplify and sequence a 605-nucleotide (nt) segment of a coding region in the Beak and Feather Disease Virus (BFDV) genome. Feather and blood samples from 25 caged birds representing 10 species were assayed and the BFDV was detected in 21 samples from New Zealand. A phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences from 17 specimens together with previously published sequences from Australian "isolates" revealed three lineages present in New Zealand. One viral lineage was found in six cockatoos representing two species (designated CT), a second lineage was detected in a budgerigar (designated BG), and a third was found in 10 lorikeets representing seven species (designated LK). This distinctive clustering pattern of viral sequences with groups of psittacine species indicates a genotypic association between the virus and these hosts.
Related Concept Videos
Viral Mutations
Viral Recombination

