Genetic characterization of chicken anemia virus from commercial broiler chickens in Alabama

Chicken anemia virus (CAV) isolates show extremely limited genetic variability worldwide. We determined the nucleotide sequence of an 823-nucleotide portion of the 2.3-kb CAV genome found in 10 liver and/or spleen specimens of Alabama 29-to-49-day-old commercial broiler chickens exhibiting lymphocyte depletion of the thymus submitted to the state diagnostic laboratory because of problems unrelated to anemia. We determined the nucleotide sequence directly from DNA isolated from tissues, without isolation of virus in culture. This procedure enabled us to characterize CAV that might not have replicated in culture and avoided the potential for changes during passage. Results confirmed the limited genetic variability of CAV. All sequences were identical in 93% of nucleotide positions. The sequences encoded only two distinct VP1 hypervariable regions, and both had been found previously in other CAV isolates. A novel amino acid, glutamine, was found at VP1 position 22 in half the sequences, replacing the histidine residue encoded by most previously characterized CAV genomes. We were able to distinguish among CAV genomes with different codons at VP1 amino acid 22 and different hypervariable regions by restriction endonuclease analysis of polymerase chain reaction products.