Sole recombinant Muscovy duck parvovirus infection in Muscovy ducklings can form characteristic intestinal embolism

Abstract Recombinant Muscovy duck parvovirus (rMDPV) has been recently identified as a novel pathogen circulating in Chinese Muscovy duck flocks in the past two decades. Different from classical MDPV, rMDPV infection can form embolism in the intestinal tract of deceased Muscovy ducklings. However, whether rMDPV acts as the sole causative agent involved in the formation of the characteristic embolism in Muscovy ducklings remains unclear. In this study, an infectious plasmid clone pZW containing the complete genome of strain ZW, a previously characterized rMDPV isolate, was constructed, and a single nucleotide mutation was then introduced in the VP1 gene within pZW as the genetic marker. Transfection of pZW in 11-day-old embryonated Muscovy duck eggs via the chorioallantoic membrane route resulted in the rescue of the infectious virus. The rescued virus exhibited similar biological characteristics to its parental strain ZW, as evaluated by the median embryo lethal dose and the replication kinetics in embryonated Muscovy duck eggs. Muscovy duckling infection tests showed that the rescued virus and parental strain can kill all Muscovy ducklings within 7 days post-infection. Postmortem examination revealed that embolism can be observed in the intestinal tracts of deceased ducklings in the rescued and parental virus infection groups. Collectively, the present study demonstrated that sole rMDPV infection of Muscovy ducklings, without participation of other pathogens, is enough to form characteristic embolism in the intestinal tract.