Evidence of vertical transmission of novel astrovirus virus in goose

In 2019, a novel goose astrovirus (GoAstV) epidemiological investigation on geese was conducted in Shandong province, China. During the investigation, a high prevalence of novel GoAstV was observed in symptom-free breeding geese flocks. Moreover, the novel GoAstV-specific RNA was detected in either breeder birds or their progenies. To verify the hypothesis that the novel GoAstV could be transmitted vertically, a total of 42 WuLong breeder geese, aged 335 days, were equally divided into three groups for experimental infection. The SDPY isolate of novel GoAstV (A/goose/Shandong/SDPY/2018, SDPY), preserved in our laboratory, was injected intramuscularly to subjects of group A while orally inoculated to those of group B. After the inoculation, novel GoAstV RNA was detected in vitelline membrane, embryos, and allantoic fluid of goose embryos in novel GoAstV infected groups. Moreover, the ORF2 gene of novel GoAstV from vitelline membrane, embryo, allantoic fluid as well as gosling shared almost 100 % nucleotide homology to a novel GoAstV virus isolated from the goose ovary which produced the egg, suggesting that the novel GoAstV can be vertically transmitted in the goose. Taken together, the findings provide evidence of possible vertical transmission of novel GoAstV from breeding goose to goslings.