Next-generation sequencing technology reveals the viruses carried by poultry in the live poultry market of Guangdong, China.

This study aimed to analyze the species and abundance of viruses carried by avian species in live poultry markets. In 2022, we collected 196 bird samples from two representative live poultry markets in Guangdong, China, of which 147 were randomly selected for metatranscriptome sequencing to construct a metatranscriptome library. This analysis yielded 17 viral families. Statistical analysis of the virus abundance of the six libraries showed that Picornaviridae, Retroviridae, Coronaviridae, and Othomyxoviridae were more abundant in the J1, J2, and J3 libraries, and Coronaviridae, Retroviridae, and Faviviridae were more abundant in the Y1, Y2, and E1 libraries. Finally, samples were screened using nested PCR and three viruses were identified. The positive results combined with high-throughput sequencing abundance data showed a positive correlation between virus abundance and the number of positive samples. This study provides scientific data to support the diagnosis and prevention of avian viral diseases.