Genetic diversity of avian paramyxoviruses isolated from wild birds and domestic poultry in Taiwan between 2009 and 2020

Avian paramyxoviruses (APMVs) belonging to the subfamily Avulavirinae within the family Paramyxoviridae. APMVs consist of twenty-two known species and are constantly isolated from a wide variety of avian species around the world. In this study, the APMV isolates obtained from wild birds and domestic poultry during 2009–2020 in Taiwan were genetically characterized by phylogenetic analysis of their complete fusion protein gene or full-length genome. As a result, 57 APMV isolates belonging to seven different species were obtained during this period and subsequently identified as APMV-1 (n=17), APMV-2 (n=1), APMV-4 (n=25), APMV-6 (n=8), APMV-12 (n=2), APMV-21 (n=2) and APMV-22 (n=2). Sanger sequencing was performed to provide 22 full-length genome sequences and 35 complete fusion protein gene sequences for the APMV isolates. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the recovered viruses were closely related to Eurasian strains, except five class I APMV-1 and four APMV-4 isolates were related to North America strains. Our findings provided more evidence for the intercontinental transmission of APMVs between Eurasia and North America by wild birds. In addition, according to the criteria of the classification system based on complete fusion protein gene sequences, three novel genotypes within APMV-2, APMV-12, and APMV-22 were identified. Together, this investigation provided a broader perspective on the genetic diversity, evolution, and distribution of APMVs in multiple avian host species sampled in Taiwan.