Characterisation of chicken viperin

•Molecular cloning and bioinformatic analysis of chicken viperin shows high similarity to other species.•Chicken viperin contains structural motifs similar to mammalian orthologues.•Chicken viperin expression is upregulated by various viral mimics.•Induction of chicken viperin is triggered by viral infection.

The identification of immune pathways that protect against pathogens may lead to novel molecular therapies for both livestock and human health. Interferon (IFN) is a major response pathway that stimulates multiple genes targeted towards reducing virus. Viperin is one such interferon stimulated gene (ISG) that helps protect mammals from virus and may be critical to protecting chickens in the same way. In chickens, ISGs are not generally well characterised and viperin, in concert with other ISGs, may be important in protecting against virus. Here we identify chicken viperin (ch-viperin) and show that ch-viperin is upregulated in response to viral signature molecules. We further show that viperin is upregulated in response to virus infection in vivo. This data will benefit investigators targeting the antiviral pathways in the chicken.