We wished to ascertain the prevalence as well as the genetic and antigenic variation of infectious bronchitis viruses (IBVs) circulating in the Guangxi Province of China in recent years. The S1 gene of 15 IBV field isolates during 2012-2013 underwent analyses in terms of the similarity of amino-acid sequences, creation of phylogenetic trees, recombination, and serologic identification. Similarities in amino-acid sequences among the 15 isolates of the S1 gene were 54.3%-99.6%, and 43.3%-99.3% among 15 isolates and reference strains. Compared with the vaccine strain H120, except for GX-YL130025, the other 14 isolates showed a lower similarity of amino-acid sequences of the S1 gene (65.1-81.4%). Phylogenetic analyses of the S1 gene suggested that 15 IBV isolates were classified into eight genotypes, with the predominant genotype being new-type II. Recombination analyses demonstrated that the S1 gene of the GX-NN130048 isolate originated from recombination events between vaccine strain 4/91 and a LX4-like isolate. Serotyping results suggested that seven serotypes prevailed during 2012-2013 in Guangxi Province, and that only one isolate was consistent with the vaccine strain H120 in serotype (which has been used widely in recent years). The serotype of recombinant isolate GX-NN130048 was different from those of its parent strains. These results suggested that not only the genotype, but also the serotype of IBV field isolates in Guangxi Province had distinct variations, and that increasing numbers of genotypes and serotypes are in circulation. We showed that recombination events can lead to the emergence of new serotypes. Our study provides new evidence for understanding of the molecular mechanisms of IBV variations, and the development of new vaccines against IBVs.
Animals ; Antibodies, Viral ; blood ; Chickens ; China ; Coronavirus Infections ; blood ; veterinary ; virology ; Genetic Variation ; Genotype ; Infectious bronchitis virus ; classification ; genetics ; immunology ; isolation & purification ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Phylogeny ; Poultry Diseases ; blood ; virology ; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid ; Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus ; chemistry ; genetics ; immunology