ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Veterinary Clinical, Anatomical, and Comparative Pathology
This article is part of the Research TopicEmerging/Re-emerging Poultry Viruses, Volume IIView all articles
VLP-Based Indirect ELISA Enables Reliable Sero-diagnosis and Epidemiological Monitoring of Duck Circovirus
Provisionally accepted
- 1Jiangsu Agri-animal Husbandry Vocational College, Taizhou, China
- 2Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang, China
- 3Fuxin Liuhe Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Co., Ltd., Liaoning, China
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Abstract Introduction: Duck circovirus (DuCV) is an emerging immunosuppressive virus that causes growth retardation, feather loss, and increased susceptibility to secondary infections in ducks, leading to significant economic losses in the duck industry. However, existing serological assays for DuCV detection often lack accuracy and reproducibility due to antigen instability, limiting effective disease surveillance. Methods: To develop a more reliable diagnostic tool, the full-length capsid (Cap) gene of DuCV-2 was codon-optimized, expressed in Escherichia coli, purified under denaturing conditions, and refolded to self-assemble into virus-like particles (VLPs). The morphology of the assembled VLPs (~15 nm) was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy, and their immunogenicity was evaluated in ducks. Based on these VLPs, an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA) was established and optimized. Results: The VLPs elicited stronger antibody responses than Cap monomers at equivalent doses, confirming their superior antigenicity. The optimized VLP-based iELISA (250 ng/well coating concentration, 1:200 serum dilution) exhibited high sensitivity (detectable up to 1:6400 dilution), strong specificity (no cross-reactivity with other avian pathogens), and good repeatability (CV < 5%). Application of the assay to 290 field duck sera collected in Jiangsu Province (2022–2024) revealed a 19.96% positivity rate, showing a gradual yearly increase. Discussion: This study developed a highly specific, sensitive, and reproducible VLP-based iELISA for DuCV antibody detection. The method provides a practical tool for large-scale epidemiological surveillance and vaccine evaluation, and the VLP-based diagnostic strategy offers a universal framework for serological assays of other avian circoviruses.
Keywords: Diagnostic assay, Duck circovirus, Epidemiology, Indirect ELISA, Serodiagnosis, virus-like particle
Received: 29 Oct 2025; Accepted: 09 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Qiu, Guo, Zhao, Zhong and Wang. 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: Yuancheng Wang
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