Characterization, phylogeny and prevalence of the coding-complete genomes of aviadenoviruses and siadenovirus in young racing pigeons

Adenoviruses are a concern for pigeon breeders due to their impact on animal health. Furthermore, they have been studied for nearly five decades and are one of the most studied viruses in pigeons. However, the number of complete genomic sequences of pigeon-infecting adenoviruses available is very low, and the pathogenic effect of these viruses on pigeons is still yet to be thoroughly explored. In this study, we describe the usage of high-throughput sequencing to identify and assemble genomic sequences of adenoviruses from pigeon samples. We were able to recover two coding-complete genomic sequences of members of Aviadenovirus genus, presumably belonging to Aviadenovirus columbidae species, and the first coding-complete genomic sequence of a member of Siadenovirus genus derived from a pigeon, genetically distinct from all other known species in this genus, which we proposed to be named Siadenovirus columbae. In addition, we designed quantitative PCR assay with TaqMan probes and digital droplet PCR to examine the potential link between the amount of pigeon adenovirus 2 (species Aviadenovirus columbidae) genome copies and the occurrence of enteropathy in young racing pigeons. The results of the quantitative analysis show that pigeon adenovirus 2 occurs in both healthy and diseased pigeons which is consistent with the previous findings. Further research is needed to assess how adenoviruses may influence enteric disease in racing pigeons.