{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T11:07:51Z","timestamp":1788952071165,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788912000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Vet. Sci.","Veterinary Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Fowl adenovirus serotype 11 (FAdV-11) is an emerging pathogen associated with inclusion body hepatitis (IBH) and high mortality in commercial broilers. In this study, we evaluated the protective efficacy of maternal antibody transfer against FAdV-11 in neonatal chicks. A hypervirulent FAdV-11 strain (FAdV-11\/HB2022\/1), isolated from an IBH outbreak in Hubei Province, China, caused 90% mortality in 1-day-old specific-pathogen-free (SPF) chickens; 7-day-old chicks exhibited no mortality but developed mild hepatic lesions and sustained viral replication. A soluble, trimeric Fiber subunit vaccine (Fiber282\u2013569) was developed through rational truncation of the transmembrane domain, retaining both the shaft and head domains, with its homotrimeric conformation confirmed by size-exclusion chromatography coupled with multi-angle light scattering (SEC-MALS). Immunization of breeder hens with Fiber282\u2013569 elicited high titers of FAdV-11-specific IgY and neutralizing antibodies that were efficiently transferred to progeny via the egg yolk. Upon lethal challenge with FAdV-11\/HB2022\/1, 1-day-old progeny chicks from vaccinated breeders exhibited 100% survival with no clinical signs, no gross pathological lesions, and undetectable viral loads in liver tissues, demonstrating complete protection. In contrast, all chicks from unvaccinated breeders succumbed within 5 days post-infection. These results demonstrate that maternal antibody transfer of the fiber-based subunit vaccine confers complete protection against lethal FAdV-11 infection in neonatal chicks, providing a safe and effective candidate strategy for controlling FAdV-11 in the poultry industry.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/vetsci13090928","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T09:24:02Z","timestamp":1788945842000},"page":"928","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Maternal Antibody Transfer of a Fiber-Based Subunit Vaccine Confers Complete Protection Against Fowl Adenovirus Serotype 11 in Neonatal Chickens"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9109-1838","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Guopan","family":"Li","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Life Sciences, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Sirong","family":"Gao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Life Sciences, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Xiaoyang","family":"Ai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Life Sciences, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Jun","family":"Rong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Life Sciences, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434000, China"},{"name":"Qingdao Yebio Bioengineering Co., Ltd., Qingdao 266000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Disi","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Life Sciences, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"software","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Lianshen","family":"Cai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Qingdao Yebio Bioengineering Co., Ltd., Qingdao 266000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"software","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"project-administration","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Weiwei","family":"Guo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Qingdao Yebio Bioengineering Co., Ltd., Qingdao 266000, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"743","DOI":"10.1080\/03079457.2025.2520361","article-title":"Fowl adenoviruses (FAdVs) in Iran between 2020 and 2022: The first comprehensive phylogenetic study","volume":"54","author":"Rajeoni","year":"2025","journal-title":"Avian Pathol."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101052","DOI":"10.1016\/j.psj.2021.101052","article-title":"Research Note: An overview on distribution of fowl adenoviruses","volume":"100","author":"Kiss","year":"2021","journal-title":"Poult. 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