A goose-sourced paramyxovirus isolated from southern China

We report the isolation and characterization of a paramyxovirus from geese in South China during 1997. The isolate, designated as goose paramyxovirus/QingYuan 1997-1 (GPMV/QY97-1), showed pathogenicity to geese and could agglutinate chicken erythrocytes. Its hemagglutinating activity was inhibited by antiavian paramyxovirus serotype 1 (APMV-1) serum. The F gene of isolate was amplified by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, and sequence analysis proved that its sequence conformed to that reported in the literature, encoding an F0 protein of 553 amino acids with 13 cysteine residues and 6 potential glycosylation sites. It also contained multiple basic amino acids at the deduced cleavage site of the fusion protein, which is a typical feature of highly virulent APMV-1 strains. Sequences analysis of the F gene of GPMV/QY97-1 revealed a homology with other APMV-1 isolates, with its identity ranging from 84.1% to 99.9% on a nudeotide basis and from 88.8% to 99.6% on an amino acid basis. Phylogenetic analysis of the APMV-1 isolates showed that this isolate most closely resembled the reference APMV-1 strain GD/1/98/Go, which was originally isolated from geese in 1998.