Molecular Characterization of a Newcastle Disease Virus Fusion Gene Fragment From Bali, Indonesia, 2024

Newcastle Disease is a highly contagious viral disease in poultry caused by Newcastle Disease Virus, which remains a major concern due to recurrent outbreaks and the limited effectiveness of current vaccination strategies. This study aimed to molecularly characterize the Fusion (F) gene fragment of Newcastle Disease Virus from Bali in 2024 through analysis of nucleotide composition, virulence motifs, and phylogenetics. Viral RNA was isolated from the allantoic fluid of embryonated chicken eggs inoculated with a field sample originated from diseased broiler chickens collected in Banjar Suka Jiwa, Yangapi Village, Tembuku District, Bangli in 2024, using Trizol reagent, and subsequently amplified by one-step reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Polymerase chain reaction products of 316 bp were sequenced using the Sanger method, and the results were analyzed using MEGA 11 software. The nucleotide composition showed adenine dominance (30.17%) and a GC content of 50.56%. The virulent motif ^112RRQKRF^117 was detected at the cleavage site of the F gene. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the Bali/2024 isolate belongs to genotype VII.2 and clusters closely with other Indonesian isolates from Garut, East Java, Tabanan, and Gianyar. The closest genetic distance was 0.01 substitutions/site with the Garut/2019 isolate, while the farthest distance was 0.34 substitutions/ site with the Canadian/1987 isolate from Class I. Moreover, this isolate showed a 23% difference from the LaSota vaccine strain (genotype II). The Bali/2024 Newcastle Disease Virus isolate is virulent and genetically close to local genotype VII.2 strains, highlighting the need for local stra-in-based vaccination strategies.

Cite this article as: Utami, I. M., Utami, Y. M., & Komala Sari, T. (2026). Molecular characterization of a Newcastle disease virus fusion gene fragment from Bali, Indonesia, 2024. Acta Veterinaria Eurasia, 52, 0180, doi:10.5152/actavet.2026.25180.