gut metagenome strain:Astrovirus Genome sequencing. Wild aquatic birds strain:Astrovirus

Avian Astroviruses belong to the genus Avastrovirus and are divided into three species (Groups 1 to 3). Birds are natural hosts that have the potential to cause poultry infections leading to economic losses. It is also associated with gastrointestinal, liver, or kidney disease in humans. At present, the understanding of avian Astrovirus with the full genome is still insufficient, and most of them have only a partial genome. The purpose of this experiment was to explore the ecological importance of interspecific transmission of astroviruses among avian species through whole-genome sequencing.In this experiment, fecal samples of wild birds were collected in the Mai Po swamp in Hong Kong, and the novel astrovirus RdRp gene was detected by pan-astrovirus reverse transcription-PCR. Whole-genome sequencing was followed by a phylogenetic analysis that revealed the previously unrecognized diversity of novel astroviruses. To identify the host species, the avian mitochondrial DNA COX1 gene assay was used.Through phylogenetic analysis, most of the positive samples were closely related to Astrovirus Group 1, and a few were related to Astrovirus Group 3. It is worth noting that the RdRp gene sequence of four samples was detected to be similar to Astro-like viruses, and three samples were classified into another astrovirus genus, Mamastrovirus. Whole-genome sequencing is still in progress. Whole-genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis are needed to further understand the transmission of astroviruses among avian species.