Phylogenetic analyses on Marek’s disease virus circulating in Iranian backyard and commercial poultry indicate viruses of different origin

As neoplastic viruses have been affecting Iranian chicken farms more frequently in recent years, the first step in prevention may therefore be to genetically characterize and systematically identify their source and origin. Recently, we published a phylogenetic analysis based on the meq gene of Gallid alphaherpesvirus 2, commonly known as serotype 1 Marek’s disease virus (MDV-1), that circulated in Iranian backyard and commercial chickens. In the current study, we are reporting for the first time the identification of a 298 aa meq protein containing only two PPPP motifs from an MDV-1-infected unvaccinated backyard turkey. This protein length has never been reported from any turkey species before. According to phylogenetic analysis, a close genetic relationship (0.68%) to several chicken-origin isolates such as the American vv + 648A strain was found. In addition, we identified a standard meq protein from a MDV-1-infected commercial chicken farm. In corroboration with our previous finding from other Iranian provinces, it is likely that the highly identical MDV-1 viruses currently circulating in Iranian chicken farms, which may be indicative of human role in the spread of the virus, have similar Eurasian origin. Our data suggest that regardless of the meq size, MDV-1 circulating in Iran are from different origins. On the other hand, meq sequences from bird species other than chicken have been reported but are very few. Our investigation suggests MDV-1 circulating in turkey do not have species-specific sequences.