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Novel Picornavirus from a Pied Avocet May Represent a New Genus

Two pied avocets standing in shallow water
Research: Genetics & genomics, Disease, parasites & microbiology

Researchers have genetically characterised a previously unknown picornavirus from a pied avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) in Hungary. The study was published in Scientific Reports on 19 February 2026 and is based on a cloacal sample collected at Lake Fertő in Fertő-Hanság National Park in June 2018.

The sample was initially analysed in a pool together with one from a little stint (Calidris minuta). After sequencing revealed picornavirus material, the researchers returned to the original, unpooled samples and tested them separately with RT-PCR. Only the pied avocet sample was positive, allowing the viral sequence to be assigned to that bird.

The virus may represent a new species and a new genus

The nearly complete genome was 7,410 nucleotides long, with a coding region of 6,567 nucleotides that encoded a polyprotein of 2,189 amino acids. Several parts of this polyprotein were highly divergent from known viruses. The P1 region, which gives rise to the viral capsid proteins, had its closest match in a picornavirus sequence from a red-crowned crane, at 53% amino-acid identity. The 2C helicase and 3C protease — proteins involved in viral genome replication and processing of the polyprotein — were only 52.6% and 52.3% identical to their closest known matches, while the 3D RNA polymerase reached just 43.2% identity to the closest corresponding sequence from a little egret picornavirus.

Genome organisation of two novel avian picornaviruses, including the pied avocet virus in panel B
Genome organisation of the two picornaviruses characterised in the study. Panel B shows strain avocet/PA12/HUN/2018 from the pied avocet. Figure 1 from Balázs et al. (2026), Scientific Reports, CC BY 4.0.

Sequence comparisons and phylogenetic analyses placed the virus in the picornavirus subfamily Heptrevirinae. Its 5′ untranslated region contained a type-III IRES — a structured RNA element that helps the viral genome initiate protein production — with an unusual domain pattern shared with several other bird-origin picornaviruses. Together with the large protein-sequence differences and the virus’s separate position in the phylogenetic trees, this led the authors to conclude that it could represent both a new virus species and the founding member of a new genus, for which they propose the name “Hansagivirus” after the area where the sample was collected.

The 3′ untranslated end of the genome was also unusual. It contained two repeated RNA motifs: a 17-nucleotide motif occurred five times and was predicted to form its own secondary RNA structure, while a second nine-nucleotide motif occurred twice. The function of these repeated sequences is not known.

The study did not link the virus to disease

The study does not establish that the virus caused disease in the avocet. The authors note that many related bird picornaviruses have been detected in asymptomatic infections, while their occurrence in other bird species and their ability to cross species barriers remain unknown. They suggest that the shared association with aquatic habitats may be important and call for further research into the relationship between these viruses and wetland environments.

Sources and image credit

  1. Balázs, B., Boros, Á., Pankovics, P., Mátics, R., Urbán, P., Herczeg, R., Knowles, N. J., & Reuter, G. (2026). Genetic characterization of two novel picornaviruses from birds, white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) and pied avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) in Hungary. Scientific Reports, 16, 9816. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-39780-1Primary peer-reviewed open-access article published 19 February 2026 under CC BY 4.0. The pied avocet sample was the only RT-PCR-positive original sample from its pool; its nearly complete picornavirus genome was characterised and proposed as a potential new species and founding member of a new genus.

Image: © Giles Laurent, gileslaurent.com — two pied avocets (Recurvirostra avosetta) in the Camargue, France, 16 February 2024; representative species image, not birds from the Hungarian study. Source: Wikimedia Commons. · CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ · Source

About this content: This story was produced with AI assistance within an editorial workflow developed by Wildlife Vagabond. Editorial responsibility remains with Wildlife Vagabond.How AI is used

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