Generation and biological assessment of recombinant avian metapneumovirus subgroup C (aMPV-C) viruses containing different length of the G gene

Genetic variation in length of the G gene among different avian metapneumovirus subgroup C (aMPV-C) isolates has been reported. However, its biological significance in virus replication, pathogenicity and immunity is unknown. In this study, we developed a reverse genetics system for aMPV-C and generated two Colorado (CO) strain-based recombinant viruses containing either the full-length G gene derived from a Canadian goose isolate or a...