Vet Res Commun. 2026 Jul 28;50(5):486. doi: 10.1007/s11259-026-11423-w.

ABSTRACT

Since 2022, a decrease in egg production and hatchability, along with hepatitis-like symptoms, has been frequently reported in Muscovy duck farms in southern China. Using metagenomic sequencing, a novel Chaphamaparvovirus (ChPV), designated MuChPV-GD2022, was detected in the livers of the diseased ducks. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the MuChPV-GD2022 strain shares 61.8-77.4% genome identity with duck-origin Chaphamaparvoviruses, and 44.3-77.4% with avian-origin Chaphamaparvoviruses. The NS1 protein amino acid sequence showed a 29.3-71.5% similarity to those of other known Chaphamaparvoviruses. These findings support the classification of MuChPV-GD2022 as a new species in the genus Chaphamaparvovirus, family Parvoviridae. Since virus isolation was not achieved due to technical constraints, the evidence suggests MuChPV may be associated with the hepatitis-like disease. Furthermore, a TaqMan qPCR assay targeting NS1 gene of the virus was developed and validated for specificity, sensitivity, and repeatability, which provides a sensitive tool not only for virus detection but also for epidemiological surveillance of MuChPV infections.

PMID:42518002 | DOI:10.1007/s11259-026-11423-w

J Ethnopharmacol. 2026 Jul 21;372:122219. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2026.122219. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Platycodon grandiflorus (PG) is a traditional herb widely used for respiratory infections. Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is a highly contagious and devastating pathogen that causes severe economic losses to the poultry industry. Platycodin D (PD), a bioactive component of PG, has not been investigated for its antiviral activity against NDV.

AIM OF THE STUDY: We investigated the antiviral activity of PD against NDV and elucidated its underlying host-targeted mechanisms.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The anti-NDV activity of PD was evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Transcriptomic and network pharmacology were employed to map PD-targeted pathways. Mechanistic dissection was achieved by examining MAPK signaling cascade, NLRP3 inflammasome assembly, inflammatory cytokine profiling, apoptosis regulation, and type I interferon response.

RESULTS: PD significantly inhibited NDV replication in vitro and in vivo, reducing viral loads and tissue injury in infected chickens. Transcriptomic profiling combined with network pharmacology analysis identified inflammation-, apoptosis-, and interferon-related pathways as major targets of PD, with MAPK signaling emerging as a central regulatory node. Mechanistic studies demonstrated that PD suppressed NDV-induced activation of the MAPK pathway and NLRP3 inflammasome assembly, leading to decreased production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-18). In parallel, PD attenuated virus-induced apoptosis through upregulation of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2. Moreover, PD enhanced antiviral immunity by promoting IFN-α/β expression and STAT1 phosphorylation.

CONCLUSION: PD restricts NDV infection by coordinately modulating host inflammatory, apoptotic, and innate antiviral signaling pathways, supporting its potential as a host-targeted antiviral candidate for the control of Newcastle disease.

PMID:42480879 | DOI:10.1016/j.jep.2026.122219

BMC Vet Res. 2026 Jul 15. doi: 10.1186/s12917-026-05703-5. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a major zoonotic foodborne pathogen causing human acute hepatitis, with genotype 4 endemic in China and swine as its main reservoir. Guangdong has a large intensive swine industry, yet stratified molecular epidemiological data on swine HEV are lacking. This study explored the prevalence, risk factors and genetic traits of swine HEV in Guangdong to support zoonotic disease control.

METHODS: A total of 1280 pig fecal samples from farms and abattoirs were tested for HEV RNA via RT-nPCR targeting ORF2. All positive samples underwent Sanger sequencing, and partial isolates were amplified for near-full-length genomes. Phylogenetic trees were built using the maximum likelihood method with 1000 bootstraps. Samples were grouped by region, season and sampling site; subgroup detection rates were compared via χ² and Fisher's exact tests, and binary logistic regression identified independent risk factors (P < 0.05).

RESULTS: The overall HEV positive detection rate was 2.66% (34/1280, 95% CI: 1.85-3.69). Detection rates differed markedly by region (P < 0.001) and season (P < 0.05), with no discrepancy between farms and abattoirs (P > 0.05). Region and season were independent risk factors. All isolates were HEV genotype 4, dominated by subtype 4a plus minor 4b and 4d strains, with consistent genotyping results from ORF2 and full-length genomes. Wide genetic divergence existed among local strains, and amino acid mutations concentrated in the ORF1 hypervariable region.

CONCLUSION: Swine HEV prevalent in Guangdong Province mainly belongs to genotype 4 and exhibits obvious regional and seasonal distribution characteristics. Continuous and targeted surveillance in high-risk regions and peak epidemic seasons is recommended to reduce the zoonotic transmission risk of swine HEV and ensure public health safety.

PMID:42458441 | DOI:10.1186/s12917-026-05703-5

Curr Res Food Sci. 2026 May 25;12:101448. doi: 10.1016/j.crfs.2026.101448. eCollection 2026.

ABSTRACT

Chemical disinfectants and bacteriophages for controlling Salmonella in foods often have limitations such as residual odor, narrow antimicrobial spectra, and poor stability under food processing conditions. Lasso peptides, with their structural stability, heat resistance, and safe antimicrobial activity, are promising candidates for food preservation. In this study, Chitosan-Citric acid-MccJ25-MccY (CCJY) nanoparticles were prepared via citric acid crosslinking to encapsulate MccJ25 and MccY. The nanoparticles showed high encapsulation efficiency (>96.67%) and maintained their antimicrobial activity in the presence of food matrices. CCJY exhibited strong anti-Salmonella activity on the surface of eggs and chilled chicken, achieving 99.9% bacterial reduction. Importantly, CCJY retained its efficacy after heat treatment and under acidic/alkaline conditions typical of food processing. In egg preservation, CCJY treatment maintained eggshell integrity (0.82% weight loss, Haugh unit 61.12 after 20 days). In chilled chicken, CCJY reduced total bacterial counts by 2.37 log₁₀ CFU/g and decreased drip loss by 12.5% (p < 0.001), extending shelf life by 3-4 days. These results demonstrate that CCJY is an efficient and safe antimicrobial formulation suitable for application in egg and meat preservation.

PMID:42282865 | PMC:PMC13251780 | DOI:10.1016/j.crfs.2026.101448

Poult Sci. 2026 Aug;105(8):107104. doi: 10.1016/j.psj.2026.107104. Epub 2026 May 9.

ABSTRACT

Avian coccidiosis, especially infection caused by the highly pathogenic Eimeria necatrix, causes major economic loss in the poultry production. With the increasing limitations of anticoccidial drugs and live vaccines, there is an urgent need for novel, broad-spectrum control strategies. In this study, a reverse vaccinology workflow was used to screen the proteomes of five Eimeria species. Six highly conserved membrane protein families were selected: carbonic anhydrase (CA), mechanosensitive ion channel (MSC), cell division control protein 50 (CDC50), major facilitator superfamily transporter (MFS), ATP-binding cassette transporter (ABC) and lipid transfer protein (LTP). Antigenic fragments from these families were linked with EAAAK linkers to generate a chimeric multi-antigen fusion construct, EimeriaBig. Five prime-boost regimens were tested in chickens challenged with E. necatrix. The regimen of one protein prime followed by two DNA boosts showed the highest protection among the tested regimens, with moderate protective efficacy. Our results demonstrated that a heterologous strategy, comprising a recombinant protein prime (rEimeriaBig) followed by two DNA vaccine boosts (pcDNA3.1-EimeriaBig), conferred the best protection among the regimens tested, with moderate efficacy. In this group, cecal lesion score was reduced by 47.64 % and oocyst output was reduced by 49.75 %, and the anticoccidial index was 168.72. The same regimen produced higher antigen-specific IgY and increased transcription of IL-2, IFN-γ, and IL-10. These results support further optimization of this vaccine strategy for control of E. necatrix.

PMID:42214189 | PMC:PMC13241995 | DOI:10.1016/j.psj.2026.107104

Front Microbiol. 2026 May 12;17:1819878. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2026.1819878. eCollection 2026.

ABSTRACT

RNA splicing is a fundamental driver of eukaryotic transcriptomic and proteomic diversity. Constrained by compact genomes, diverse DNA and RNA viruses, including adenovirus, HIV-1, and influenza virus, have evolved to hijack the host splicing machinery. This exploitation not only maximizes viral coding capacity but also ensures the precise spatiotemporal regulation of viral infection. In this review, we summarize current advances in the molecular mechanisms of viral RNA splicing, illustrating how viruses co-opt the host spliceosome and reprogram global alternative splicing landscapes to support their infection cycle. Through representative viral models, we detail the convergent strategies of alternative splice site selection and the dynamic interplay between viral RNA elements and host trans-acting factors. Furthermore, we spotlight the emerging frontier of viral circular RNAs (vcircRNAs), highlighting their biogenesis via non-canonical back-splicing and their versatile roles in immune evasion. Finally, we summarize recent methodological breakthroughs, particularly long-read sequencing and single-cell analyses, that are rapidly charting the complex splicing landscape. Together, this review provides an integrated perspective on the virus-host splicing interface, exposing critical vulnerabilities that offer promising avenues for next-generation, broad-spectrum antiviral interventions.

PMID:42205581 | PMC:PMC13201242 | DOI:10.3389/fmicb.2026.1819878

J Virol Methods. 2026 Sep;345:115408. doi: 10.1016/j.jviromet.2026.115408. Epub 2026 May 22.

ABSTRACT

The global waterfowl industry faces escalating economic losses from complex polymicrobial infections, yet conventional diagnostics remain shackled to single-pathogen workflows that falter under mixed infection scenarios. Here, we present a high-throughput multiplex MALDI-TOF MS platform enabling simultaneous detection of 13 critical goose-origin viruses through targeted interrogation of 16 conserved genomic signatures, including GAstV-1/2 (ORF1b), DRV (p10/L1), AIV (NP), TMUV (E), FAdV (hexon), GPV (VP1), DPV (UL6), NDV (L), GoCV (Rep), REV (LTR), MDPV (VP1), IBDV (VP2), and ALV (env/p27). The assay exhibited exceptional analytical performance, achieving limits of detection ranging from 2.87 to 29 copies/μL, absolute specificity, and robust reproducibility (intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation ≤ 3.3%, corresponding to precision ≥ 96.7%). Clinical validation using 74 field specimens, encompassing oropharyngeal/cloacal swabs, environmental swabs, and tissue samples, demonstrated 98.3% concordance with qPCR, with markedly superior capability in resolving complex co-infections that confound conventional methods. The platform accommodates diverse clinical matrices, processing 384 samples per run within a < 10-hour workflow, thereby overcoming the throughput limitations of single-target PCR and the resource intensity of next-generation sequencing. By enabling comprehensive pathogen profiling in a single analytical run, this technology offers a pragmatic, scalable solution for rapid outbreak investigation, routine surveillance, and evidence-based disease management in intensive waterfowl production systems.

PMID:42173366 | DOI:10.1016/j.jviromet.2026.115408

Front Microbiol. 2026 May 4;17:1827782. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2026.1827782. eCollection 2026.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Mycoplasma synoviae (M. synoviae) is an economically significant pathogen that causes respiratory infections, synovitis, and arthritis in chickens, inflicting substantial economic losses on the global poultry industry. Its frequent co-infection with other respiratory pathogens, often exacerbates the resultant pathogenic damage. As an important respiratory pathogen, it remains unclear whether Cryptosporidium baileyi (C. baileyi) can cause co-infection with M. synoviae in commercial large-scale poultry farms and what synergistic pathogenic pattern exists between them.

METHODS: A total of 1,118 choanal cleft swab samples were collected from commercial chicken farms across eight regions in Guangdong province for the detection of M. synoviae and C. baileyi. The extracted DNA was analyzed by qPCR for M. synoviae and nested PCR for C. baileyi, respectively. Furthermore, a total of 90 one-day-old chicks confirmed free of C. baileyi and M. synoviae were randomly divided into six groups to establish a co-infection model and investigate the synergistic pathogenic effect pattern of the two pathogens.

RESULTS: The overall positive rates of M. synoviae and C. baileyi were 41.32% and 17.80%, respectively, with significant regional, city-level, and age-related variations. Samples from Western Guangdong and chickens over 45 days old showed the highest infection risks for both pathogens. The co-infection rate was 10.55%, and a significant positive association was observed between the two pathogens (OR = 2.44, p < 0.001). Co-infection risk increased markedly with age, especially in chickens older than 45 days. Chicken co-infection model was established to explore synergistic pathogenesis between C. baileyi and M. synoviae. Co-infection did not alter the prepatent period of C. baileyi, but significantly increased oocyst shedding peak and prolonged excretion time. Meanwhile, C. baileyi markedly elevated M. synoviae loads in the choanal cleft at multiple time points. Gross and histopathological examinations showed that co-infection aggravated laryngotracheal lesions caused by C. baileyi, and exacerbated footpad, joint and air sac lesions induced by M. synoviae. Overall, C. baileyi and M. synoviae exert mutual promoting effects on proliferation and pathogenicity in chickens.

DISCUSSION: The findings in the present study confirm the high prevalence of M. synoviae-C. baileyi co-infection in commercial poultry flocks and demonstrate that co-infection synergistically enhances the pathogenicity of both pathogens. These results fill an important knowledge gap in co-infection research, provide novel insights into the interaction mechanisms of multiple pathogens in poultry, and offer key scientific support for addressing complex disease challenges in modern poultry production.

PMID:42158394 | PMC:PMC13180860 | DOI:10.3389/fmicb.2026.1827782

Emerg Microbes Infect. 2026 Dec;15(1):2651464. doi: 10.1080/22221751.2026.2651464. Epub 2026 May 26.

ABSTRACT

Influenza A viruses (IAVs) cause severe outbreaks with high mortality in birds and humans. A deeper understanding of cell-intrinsic defense mechanisms against influenza viruses is therefore crucial for developing novel antiviral strategies. Herein, we perform a genome-wide CRISPR activation screen to systematically elucidate host restriction factors against influenza A (H7N9) virus. Among multiple candidates, cholesterol 25-hydroxylase (CH25H) is shown to be induced by influenza virus infection and inhibit viral membrane fusion. Notably, our previous work demonstrated that CH25H blocks the entry of plasma membrane-fusing viruses such as coronaviruses. This inhibition occurs by relocating accessible cholesterol from the plasma membrane (PM) to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Here, we extend this finding and show that the same mechanism works against endocytosis-dependent viruses such as influenza viruses. The exogenous supplementation of cholesterol can restore depleted accessible cholesterol and reverse the CH25H-mediated restriction. Additionally, we prove that acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT) is required to recruit the accessible cholesterol in this process. However, how hydrophobic accessible cholesterol is transported remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that GRAMD1/Aster-mediated non-vesicular cholesterol transport is utilized to mobilize accessible cholesterol upon stimulation of CH25H. 25-hydroxycholesterol (25HC), the catalytic product of CH25H, is a natural metabolite that potently inhibits influenza virus infection both in vitro and in vivo. These findings underscore the promising therapeutic potential of 25HC against influenza viruses.

PMID:42126187 | PMC:PMC13215439 | DOI:10.1080/22221751.2026.2651464

Trends Parasitol. 2026 Jul;42(7):617-633. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2026.04.006. Epub 2026 May 13.

ABSTRACT

Increasing evidence suggests that regulatory noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) modulate a series of epithelial responses following Cryptosporidium invasion. During infection, ncRNAs are involved in the activation of intracellular signaling pathways, the production of antimicrobial molecules, the expression of cytokines/chemokines, the release of epithelial cell-derived exosomes, and the feedback regulation of immune homeostasis. In addition, Cryptosporidium may have developed strategies to modulate host ncRNA-mediated cellular function for immune evasion. These findings indicate that ncRNAs may be important determinants of the infection resistance conferred by the host and the long-term latency established by the parasite. Here, we summarize recent progress on the role of ncRNAs in the regulation of host-Cryptosporidium interactions, relevant to the development of ncRNA-based drug therapeutics for cryptosporidiosis in the future.

PMID:42128744 | DOI:10.1016/j.pt.2026.04.006