Characteristics of influenza H13N8 subtype virus firstly isolated from Qinghai Lake Region, China

Background Since the highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza caused thousands of deaths of wild bird in this area in 2005, Qinghai Lake in China has become a hot spot for study of the influence of avian influenza to migratory wild birds. However, the ecology and evolution of low pathogenic avian influenza virus in this region are limited. This project-based avian influenza surveillance in Qinghai lake region was initiated in year 2012. Method Samples of wild bird feces and lake surface water were collected in Qinghai Lake in year 2012.Virus isolation was conducted on embryonated chicken eggs. The influenza A virus was determined by rRT-PCR. Virus sequences were acquired by deep sequencing. The phylogenetic correlation and molecular characteristics of the viruses were analyzed. The virus growth and infection features, receptor binding preference were studied, and pathogenicity in vitro as well as. Results Two H13N8 subtype influenza viruses were isolated. The viruses are phylogenetically belong to Eurasian lineage. Most of the genes are associated with gull origin influenza virus except PB1 gene, which is most probably derived from Anseriformes virus. The evidence of interspecies reassortment was presented. The two viruses have limited growth capacity on MDCK and A549 cells while grow well in embryonated eggs. The dual receptor binding features of the two viruses was shown up. The low pathogenic features were determined by trypsin dependence plaque formation assay. Conclusions The two H13N8 subtype influenza viruses are highly associated with gull origin. The interspecies reassortment of H13 subtype virus among Anseriforme sand Charadriiformes wild birds emphasizes the importance of strengthening avian influenza surveillance in this region. This study is helpful to understand the ecology, evolution and transmission pattern of H13 subtype influenza virus globally. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12985-017-0842-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.