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Updated: Aug 9, 2026
An Ex Vivo Chicken Primary Bursal-cell Culture Model to Study Infectious Bursal Disease Virus Pathogenesis
Published on: October 4, 2018
Molecular characterization of recent infectious bursal disease virus isolates from Malaysia
I Nurulfiza1, M Hair-Bejo, A R Omar
1Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
Abstract:
Three isolates of Infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV), designated UPM04178, UPM04190 and UPM04238, were obtained from severe outbreaks of infectious bursal disease (IBD) in Malaysia in 2004. The hypervariable region (HPVR) of VP2 gene of these isolates was sequenced. The obtained sequences were compared with those of other isolates. The highest similarity (98%) concerning both nucleotide and amino acid sequences was found to very virulent IBDV (vvIBDV) strains. Phylogenetic analysis revealed clustering of the three isolates with vvIBDV strains. Evolutionary relatedness of the three isolates to vvIBDV strains was demonstrated by three phylogenetic methods: bootstrap values of 100%, 95% and 90% for nucleotide sequences and those of 58%, 86% and 96% for amino acid sequences were obtained by the distance, maximum parsimony and maximum likehood methods, respectively. It is concluded that UPM04178, UPM04190 and UPM04238 are vvIBDV isolates of serotype 1, which originate from a common ancestor of IBDV strains present in Malaysia.
Insights
Three Malaysian Infectious Bursal Disease Virus (IBDV) isolates from 2004 outbreaks were identified as very virulent IBDV (vvIBDV) strains. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed their close evolutionary relationship to other vvIBDV strains.
Area of Science:
- Veterinary Virology
- Molecular Epidemiology
Background:
- Infectious Bursal Disease (IBD) causes significant economic losses in poultry farming worldwide.
- The emergence of very virulent Infectious Bursal Disease Virus (vvIBDV) strains poses a continuous threat to the global poultry industry.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize three IBDV isolates obtained from severe IBD outbreaks in Malaysia in 2004.
- To determine the molecular and phylogenetic relationship of these Malaysian IBDV isolates to known IBDV strains.
Main Methods:
- Sequencing of the hypervariable region (HPVR) of the VP2 gene of three IBDV isolates (UPM04178, UPM04190, UPM04238).
- Comparative analysis of nucleotide and amino acid sequences with existing IBDV isolates.
- Phylogenetic analysis using distance, maximum parsimony, and maximum likelihood methods.
Main Results:
- The three Malaysian IBDV isolates exhibited 98% nucleotide and amino acid sequence similarity to vvIBDV strains.
- Phylogenetic analyses consistently clustered these isolates with vvIBDV strains, supported by high bootstrap values.
- The isolates were confirmed as serotype 1 vvIBDV, suggesting a common ancestor within Malaysia.
Conclusions:
- The characterized Malaysian IBDV isolates (UPM04178, UPM04190, UPM04238) are identified as very virulent strains.
- These findings highlight the presence and evolution of vvIBDV in Malaysia, necessitating ongoing surveillance and control strategies.
- The study provides insights into the genetic diversity and evolutionary dynamics of IBDV in the region.
