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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Immunol.

Sec. Viral Immunology

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1680275

This article is part of the Research TopicAntiviral Innate Immune Mechanisms in Animal HostsView all 10 articles

Metatranscriptomic Analysis of the Gut Virome in Muscovy Ducks Reveals a Novel Duck Reovirus Potentially Associated with Hepatic and Splenic Hemorrhage

Provisionally accepted
Chuang  LiuChuang Liu1Qixiang  KangQixiang Kang1Xuanci  WangXuanci Wang1Fangui  ZengFangui Zeng2Yihui  HuangYihui Huang1Yiqin  YangYiqin Yang1Rui  GengRui Geng1Jiamin  LiaoJiamin Liao1Xin  LuoXin Luo1Zhuanqiang  YanZhuanqiang Yan2Lijuan  YinLijuan Yin2Sheng  CaoSheng Cao2Feng  ChenFeng Chen3Hao  ZhangHao Zhang1Ouyang  PengOuyang Peng1Yongchang  CaoYongchang Cao1*
  • 1Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
  • 2Wens Foodstuff Group Co Ltd, Yunfu, China
  • 3South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Ducks rank among the most important sources of animal protein globally, yet hepatic and splenic hemorrhage and necrosis in Muscovy ducks present a critical challenge to the poultry industry. The causes behind such diseases are often multifaceted, involving both established and newly emerging pathogens. In this study, we leveraged metatranscriptomic sequencing to profile the intestinal viral communities of healthy and diseased Muscovy ducks from a Guangdong Province farm that experienced a hepatic and splenic hemorrhage in June 2024. Our findings revealed marked differences in viral community profiles between the two groups, with the diseased cohort exhibiting higher α-diversity. Taxonomic analyses across multiple levels uncovered significant variations in viral composition, including shifts in phylums like Uroviricota and families such as Demerecviridae. At the genus and species levels, several bacteriophages and eukaryotic viruses displayed differential abundance. Notably, Avian orthoreovirus was detected exclusively in diseased ducks, with a specific novel duck reovirus (NDRV) validated via RT-qPCR as a potential contributor to hepatic and splenic pathogenesis. In contrast, known pathogens such as Duck hepatitis A virus (DHAV) and Fowl adenovirus serotype 4 (FAdV-4) were not detected. This study constitutes the first comprehensive analysis of the Muscovy duck gut striking 删除[admin]: virome, highlighting NDRV as a potential causative agent and emphasizing the utility of metatranscriptomics in pathogen discovery.

Keywords: Muscovy ducks, metatranscriptomic sequencing, intestinal viral communities, Novel duck reovirus, Hepatic and Splenic Hemorrhage

Received: 05 Aug 2025; Accepted: 06 Oct 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Liu, Kang, Wang, Zeng, Huang, Yang, Geng, Liao, Luo, Yan, Yin, Cao, Chen, Zhang, Peng and Cao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Yongchang Cao, caoych@mail.sysu.edu.cn

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