Ancient chicken remains reveal the origins of virulence in Marek's disease virus

Fiddaman, SR; Dimopoulos, EA; Lebrasseur, O; du Plessis, L; Vrancken, B; Charlton, S; Haruda, AF; Tabbada, K; Flammer, PG; Dascalu, S; Markovic, N; Li, H; Franklin, G; Symmons, R; Baron, H; Daróczi-Szabó, L; Shaymuratova, DN; Askeyev, IV; Putelat, O; Sana, M; Davoudi, H; Fathi, H; Mucheshi, AS; Vahdati, AA; Zhang, LR; Foster, A; Sykes, N; Baumberg, GC; Bulatovic, J; Askeyev, AO; Askeyev, OV; Mashkour, M; Pybus, OG; Nair, V; Larson, G; Smith, AL; Frantz, LAF

doi:10.1126/science.adg2238

Ancient chicken remains reveal the origins of virulence in Marek's disease virus

Fiddaman, SR; Dimopoulos, EA; Lebrasseur, O; du Plessis, L; Vrancken, B; Charlton, S; Haruda, AF; Tabbada, K; Flammer, PG; Dascalu, S; Markovic, N; Li, H; Franklin, G; Symmons, R; Baron, H; Daróczi-Szabó, L; Shaymuratova, DN; Askeyev, IV; Putelat, O; Sana, M; Davoudi, H; Fathi, H; Mucheshi, AS; Vahdati, AA; Zhang, LR; Foster, A; Sykes, N; Baumberg, GC; Bulatovic, J; Askeyev, AO; Askeyev, OV; Mashkour, M; Pybus, OG; Nair, V; Larson, G; Smith, AL; Frantz, LAF

Authors

SR Fiddaman

EA Dimopoulos

O Lebrasseur

L du Plessis

B Vrancken

S Charlton

AF Haruda

K Tabbada

PG Flammer

S Dascalu

N Markovic

H Li

G Franklin

R Symmons

H Baron

L Daróczi-Szabó

DN Shaymuratova

IV Askeyev

O Putelat

M Sana

H Davoudi

H Fathi

AS Mucheshi

AA Vahdati

LR Zhang

A Foster

N Sykes

GC Baumberg

J Bulatovic

AO Askeyev

OV Askeyev

M Mashkour

OG Pybus

V Nair

G Larson

AL Smith

LAF Frantz

Abstract

The pronounced growth in livestock populations since the 1950s has altered the epidemiological and evolutionary trajectory of their associated pathogens. For example, Marek's disease virus (MDV), which causes lymphoid tumors in chickens, has experienced a marked increase in virulence over the past century. Today, MDV infections kill >90% of unvaccinated birds, and controlling it costs more than US$1 billion annually. By sequencing MDV genomes derived from archeological chickens, we demonstrate that it has been circulating for at least 1000 years. We functionally tested the Meq oncogene, one of 49 viral genes positively selected in modern strains, demonstrating that ancient MDV was likely incapable of driving tumor formation. Our results demonstrate the power of ancient DNA approaches to trace the molecular basis of virulence in economically relevant pathogens.

Citation

Fiddaman, S., Dimopoulos, E., Lebrasseur, O., du Plessis, L., Vrancken, B., Charlton, S., …Frantz, L. (2023). Ancient chicken remains reveal the origins of virulence in Marek's disease virus. Science, 382(6676), 1276-1281. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adg2238

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Oct 25, 2023
Publication Date	Dec 15, 2023
Deposit Date	Jul 12, 2024
Publicly Available Date	Jul 15, 2024
Print ISSN	0036-8075
Publisher	American Association for the Advancement of Science
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	382
Issue	6676
Pages	1276-1281
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adg2238
Keywords	MEQ GENE