Gammacoronavirus and Deltacoronavirus in Quail

This paper expands a previous report on coronavirus in quail. To this end, samples were collected from São Paulo state, Southeastern Brazil, in 2013, when some farmers started quail vaccination with Massachusetts IBV serotype after surveillance carried out in 2009-2010. Pools of tracheas, lungs, reproductive tract, kidneys and enteric contents from quail and laying hens kept in the same farms and quail-only farms, showing IB-like symptoms, were sampled in this study. Samples were tested by a nested RT-PCR targeted to the 3'UTR of the Gammacoronavirus genus. Based on the DNA sequences for the RdRp gene, quail strains clustered within either Gammacoronavirus or Deltacoronavirus genus, while, for one quail sample, sequences from both genera were found. Phylogeny based on partial S1 subunit sequences showed that the gammacoronaviruses detected in quail and layers belong to the Brazilian type. These results not only suggest that quail are susceptible to Gamma and Deltacoronavirus, but also that Massachusetts vaccination was not efficient to control IBV in quail, as well as in chickens.