Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42525736›Full record

ArticleScience advances2026

Genome-wide analyses of an avian herpesvirus identify 10 loci associated with tumorigenicity and vaccine escape.

Alejandro Ortigas-Vasquez, Utsav Pandey, Andrew S Bell, Daniel W Renner, Matthew J Jones, Hans H Cheng, John R Dunn, Andrew F Read, Maciej F Boni, David A Kennedy and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Science advances, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Alejandro Ortigas-VasquezDepartment of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-5233-9573
Utsav PandeyHuck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA.
Andrew S BellDepartment of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA.
Daniel W RennerDepartment of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-9878-8294
Matthew J JonesDepartment of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-6078-6197
Hans H ChengUnited States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, US National Poultry Research Center, Avian Disease and Oncology Laboratory, East Lansing, Michigan 48823, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-2071-4644
John R DunnUnited States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, US National Poultry Research Center, Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory, Athens, Georgia 30605, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-7287-0916
Andrew F ReadDepartment of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-7604-7903
Maciej F BoniDepartment of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-0830-9630
David A KennedyDepartment of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-0820-115X
Moriah L SzparaDepartment of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-9859-1678

Funding

US-UK Collab: The consequences of transmissible vaccines on disease ecology and pathogen evolution: Marek's disease virus as a case studyR01GM140459 · NIGMS · PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, THE · PI KENNEDY, DAVID · 2020 to 2024
$1.7M
Vaccines as drivers of disease emergence: transmission ecology and virulence evolR01GM105244 · NIGMS · PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, THE · PI READ, ANDREW F. · 2012 to 2016
$1.2M
NIGMS NIH HHS R01 GM105244NIGMS NIH HHS R01 GM140459
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Comparative genomic studies of Marek's disease virus (MDV) conducted in the past two decades have proven powerful for identifying genomic loci driving historical shifts in virulence. However, past efforts were limited to comparing a few strains at a time, lacked access to certain regions of the MDV genome, and were restricted in their ability to characterize viral phenotypes. To address these limitations, we performed whole-genome sequencing on a collection of 65 MDV strains previously characterized using a standardized phenotyping assay. In addition to phylogenetic and recombination analyses, this approach enabled us to perform a genome-wide association study of virulence for this pathogen. In total, we identified 10 genome-wide significant loci associated with virulence, including a tandem repeat variant resulting from two alternative versions of a 132-bp repeating motif. Our findings support prior descriptions of virulence as a complex trait in MDV, and highlight the potential contribution of repeat-based and intergenic variants to the phenotypic diversity of herpesviruses.

Indexed as

Genetic LociGenome, ViralGenome-Wide Association StudyHerpesvirus 2, GallidMarek DiseaseAnimalsChickensPhylogenyVirulenceWhole Genome Sequencing

Identifiers

PMID42525736
PMCPMC13418539

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.