Detection and molecular characterization of avian polyomavirus in budgerigar and non-budgerigar psittacine species in bird markets of Pakistan

Avian Polyomaviruses are imposing severe health problems in budgerigars, non-budgerigar Psittacine species, and non-psittacine species all over the world, including Pakistan. It marks future challenges for aviculturists and pet store owners, causing significant financial losses. This study emphasizes the occurrence and molecular characterization of polyomaviruses in budgerigars and non-budgerigar Psittacine species. Thirty-five feather Samples of adult birds and 15 tissue samples of deceased birds were collected for the detection of Avian polyomavirus based on the VP1 gene. Screening of samples by PCR revealed the presence of 550 bp VP1 gene in deceased nestlings of two lovebirds and four budgerigars, while the feather samples of adult birds were all negative for VP1 gene. The overall positive rate of APV in Psittacine birds was 6/50 (12 %), and the distribution frequency of virus among species was 4/19 (20 %) in Budgerigars and 2/31 (6.4 %) in non-budgerigar. Positive samples were subjected to partial sequencing which showed a nucleotide similarity index of VP1 gene between 97.46 % & 99.6 % with reference sequences in GenBank. The main problem that researchers are dealing with is the scarcity of data on the prevalence and identification of APV in Pakistan. This study is a milestone for further research on APV for the diagnosis and development of vaccines.