Ovine adenoviruses infecting sheep and goats in Türkiye: detection and molecular characterization of three different types

Adenoviruses (AdVs) have been detected in a wide variety of animals. To date, eight types of AdVs in sheep and two types in goats have been identified, which belong to two distinct genera, Mastadenovirus and Atadenovirus. Typically, the term pneumo-enteritis is used to describe adenovirus-induced disease in small ruminants, which has been associated with both enteric and respiratory symptoms of varying severity. The aim of this study was to detect and identify AdVs of small ruminants belonging to the genera Mastadenovirus and Atadenovirus. For this purpose, diagnostic samples (47 lung, 27 intestine, and two pooled tissue samples including intestine and lung) from 49 small ruminants (39 sheep and 10 goats) were used. Following the viral DNA extraction, PCR was carried out by using the primers targeting the hexon gene in order to detect both mast- and atadenoviruses. Sequencing the amplified fragments revealed the presence of three types of ovine adenovirus (OAdV): OAdV-3, OAdV-4, and OAdV-8. Specifically, OAdV-3 was detected in two sheep and a goat while OAdV-4 and OAdV-8 were found in only one sheep each. There is still limited data on the interaction between the viruses in different adenovirus genera and the detected disease, as well as the genetic diversity of adenoviruses, especially in small ruminants. In conclusion, the detection of AdVs in lung and intestinal tissues of small ruminants in this study suggests that these viruses may have contributed to the disease and/or predisposed to other agents.