Diagnosis and sequence analysis of avian leukosis virus subgroup J isolated from Chinese Partridge Shank chickens

The diagnosis of avian leukosis virus subgroup J (ALV-J) infection in Chinese Partridge Shank chickens was confirmed by necropsy, histopathological examinations, antibody tests, viral isolation, immunofluorescence assays, and sequence analysis. Myelocytoma, myeloma, and fibrosarcoma were simultaneously found in Partridge Shank flock with ALV-J infection. Sequence analysis of the env genes of ALV-J demonstrated that both gp85 and gp37 were highly homologous among the three strains from local chickens of those among ALV-J strains isolated from white meat-type chickens. The phylogenetic trees indicated that the three strains isolated in this study were closely related to reference strains isolated in so-called Chinese yellow chickens and some strains isolated from white meat-type chickens, both from the USA and China. The observed ALV-J infection was the first report on Partridge Shank chickens, and myelocytoma, myeloma, and fibrosarcoma were found at the same time in this batch of local chickens.