Evaluating environmental DNA‐based quantification of ranavirus infection in wood frog populations

A variety of challenges arise when monitoring wildlife populations for disease. Sampling tissues can be invasive to hosts, and obtaining sufficient sample sizes can be expensive and time‐consuming, particularly for rare species and when pathogen prevalence is low. Environmental DNA (eDNA)‐based detection of pathogens is an alternative approach to surveillance for aquatic communities that circumvents many of these issues. Ranaviruses are emerging pathogens of ectothermic vertebrates linked to die‐offs of amphibian populations. Detecting ranavirus infections is critical, but nonlethal methods have the above issues and are prone to false negatives. We report on the feasibility and effectiveness of eDNA‐based ranavirus detection in the field. We compared ranavirus titres in eDNA samples collected from pond water to titres in wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus; n = 5) tadpoles in sites dominated by this one species (n = 20 pond visits). We examined whether ranavirus DNA can be detected in eDNA from pond water when infections are present in the pond and if viral titres detected in eDNA samples correlate with the prevalence or intensity of ranavirus infections in tadpoles. With three 250 mL water samples, we were able to detect the virus in all visits with infected larvae (0.92 diagnostic sensitivity). Also, we found a strong relationship between the viral eDNA titres and titres in larval tissues. eDNA titres increased prior to observed die‐offs and declined afterwards, and were two orders of magnitude higher in ponds with a die‐off. Our results suggest that eDNA is useful for detecting ranavirus infections in wildlife and aquaculture.     

Ranavirus: past, present and future

Emerging infectious diseases are a significant threat to global biodiversity. While historically overlooked, a group of iridoviruses in the genus Ranavirus has been responsible for die-offs in captive and wild amphibian, reptile and fish populations around the globe over the past two decades. In order to share contemporary information on ranaviruses and identify critical research directions, the First International Symposium on Ranaviruses was held in July 2011 in Minneapolis, MN, USA. Twenty-three scientists and veterinarians from nine countries examined the ecology and evolution of ranavirus-host interactions, potential reservoirs, transmission dynamics, as well as immunological and histopathological responses to infection. In addition, speakers discussed possible mechanisms for die-offs, and conservation strategies to control outbreaks.     

大鲵蛙病毒编码96L蛋白(ADRV-96L)的腺苷三磷酸酶活性和促进细胞生长作用

【背景】腺苷三磷酸酶(ATPase,ATP酶)是控制DNA复制起始及宿主对病原微生物的应答开关。近期关于水生动物虹彩病毒基因组学的研究表明,它们共享编码ATPase的基因。【目的】大鲵蛙病毒(Andrias davidianus ranavirus,ADRV)属于虹彩病毒科,是世界现存最大两栖动物——中国大鲵的致死性病毒病原体。为了鉴定病毒基因及其表达产物对病毒复制和宿主细胞的影响,对ADRV编码ATPase的基因ADRV-96L进行了克隆、表达及功能分析,阐明这个虹彩病毒核心基因的功能。【方法】采用Predic Protein软件分析序列,构建重组原核表达质粒p ET32a/His ADRV-96L,经IPTG(Isopropylβ-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside)诱导在大肠杆菌DE3中表达蛋白,用镍树脂纯化和咪唑液洗脱。钼蓝分光光度法检测产生的无机磷(Pi)以确定纯化ADRV-96L的ATPase活性。建立表达蛋白的稳定转染细胞系并进行鉴定,再分别通过绘制病毒的一步生长曲线和评估转染细胞的生长速率来测定该蛋白对病毒复制及细胞生长的影响。【结果】多重序列比对显示ADRV-96L存在含Walker A和Walker B基序的AAA-ATPase(ATPases associated with a variety of cellular activities,与各种细胞活性相关的ATPase)结构域(20-159位氨基酸)及两个高度保守的精氨酸。重组原核质粒表达了含ADRV-96L的52 k D融合蛋白,该蛋白质具有ATPase活性(酶的比活性平均为4.68 U/mg)。结果未检出ADRV-96L对病毒的复制影响,但显示该蛋白可促细胞生长。【结论】大鲵蛙病毒96L基因(ADRV-96L)编码一个促细胞增殖和生长的ATPase。     

患病中国大鲵中分离到一株虹彩病毒及其特性的研究

从陕西某大鲵养殖场患病的大鲵体内分离到一株病毒。患病大鲵以体表溃疡,特别是肢体远端溃烂为主要临床特征。该病毒于10℃~30℃能在BF-2(Caudal trunk cells of blue-gillfry)、CO(Gorad cells of grass carp)、CHSE(Embryo cells of Chinook salmon)、FHM(cells of fathed minnow)等细胞中较好地增殖,最适生长温度为25℃~30℃。病毒对氯仿、热、pH3、pH10敏感,DNA抑制剂5-氟-2′-脱氧尿苷(5-fluro-2-′deoxyuridine,FUDR)能抑制病毒在细胞中的增殖,提示该病毒是有囊膜的DNA病毒。经电镜观察,在感染了病毒的细胞切片中可见到大量直径约130~150 nm有囊膜的六角形病毒颗粒成晶格排列在细胞质里,病毒呈典型的虹彩病毒形态。抽提病毒核酸后进行PCR扩增,用已知蛙病毒主要衣壳蛋白(MCP)基因的保守序列设计的引物能扩增出431bp的片段。扩增的片段测序后,和已知的几种蛙病毒属成员的主要衣壳蛋白基因中的相应片段进行比对,相似性在96%以上。血清学试验结果显示该病毒和IPNV(Infectious pancreatic necrosis virus,IPNV)、GCRV(Grass carp reovirus,GCRV)、SVCV(Spring viraemia of carp virus,SVCV)I、HNV(Infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus,IHNV)在血清学上没有相关性。以上结果提示该病毒可能是虹彩病毒科蛙病毒属的成员,暂时命名为大鲵虹彩病毒(Andrias davidianus iridovirus,ADIV)。该病毒与大鲵发病的关系有待进一步研究。     

Iridoviruses associated with epizootic haematopoietic necrosis (EHN) in aquaculture

Systemic infections of teleost fishes caused by iridoviruses have recently been recognized in Australia, Asia, Europe and the USA. These iridoviruses are different from those of the established genera Lymphocystivirus and Goldfish Virus 1-like Viruses of the family Iridoviridae. The agents exhibit similar physicochemical properties, are antigenically related and prove to be of high virulence to different teleost fishes in aquaculture. The first iridovirus, epizootic haematopoietic necrosis virus, responsible for an epizootic outbreak of haematopoietic necrosis in redfin perch, was reported in Australia. Some years later, similar iridovirus epizootics occurred in sheatfish and catfish in Europe. The Australian and the European isolates proved to be antigenically related and showed properties in common with frog virus 3, the type species of the genus Ranavirus of the Iridoviridae. Further iridovirus isolates from fish, amphibians and reptiles exhibited a close relationship with each other and with frog virus 3. It is important to note that the Australian amphibian iridovirus, Bohle iridovirus, was experimentally transmitted to teleost fish inducing high mortalities. The occurrence of similar viruses in different host species in the aquatic environment and their inter-species transmission emphasize the importance of health control in aquaculture.     

Effects of historic and projected climate change on the range and impacts of an emerging wildlife disease

The global trend of increasing environmental temperatures is often predicted to result in more severe disease epidemics. However, unambiguous evidence that temperature is a driver of epidemics is largely lacking, because it is demanding to demonstrate its role among the complex interactions between hosts, pathogens, and their shared environment. Here, we apply a three‐pronged approach to understand the effects of temperature on ranavirus epidemics in UK common frogs, combining in vitro, in vivo, and field studies. Each approach suggests that higher temperatures drive increasing severity of epidemics. In wild populations, ranavirosis incidents were more frequent and more severe at higher temperatures, and their frequency increased through a period of historic warming in the 1990s. Laboratory experiments using cell culture and whole animal models showed that higher temperature increased ranavirus propagation, disease incidence, and mortality rate. These results, combined with climate projections, predict severe ranavirosis outbreaks will occur over wider areas and an extended season, possibly affecting larval recruitment. Since ranaviruses affect a variety of ectothermic hosts (amphibians, reptiles, and fish), wider ecological damage could occur. Our three complementary lines of evidence present a clear case for direct environmental modulation of these epidemics and suggest management options to protect species from disease.     

Geographically variable selection in Ambystoma tigrinum virus (Iridoviridae) throughout the western USA

We investigated spatially variable selection in Ambystoma tigrinum virus (ATV) which causes frequent and geographically widespread epizootics of the tiger salamander, Ambystoma tigrinum. To test for evidence of selection, we sequenced several coding and noncoding regions from virus strains isolated from epizootics throughout western North America. Three of the sequenced regions contained homologues for genes putatively involved in host immune evasion and virulence: eIF‐2α, caspase activation and recruitment domain (CARD) and β‐OH‐steroid oxidoreductase. Selection analysis showed evidence of very strong purifying selection on eIF‐2α, purifying selection within certain viral clades on CARD and positive selection on β‐OH‐steroid oxidoreductase within certain clades. Analysis using multidivtime and Tajima’s relative rate tests indicate accelerated rates of evolution within clades associated with anthropogenic movement. These clades also demonstrate greater spatial variability in selection, suggesting a lack of local adaptation (i.e. locally adapted populations should exhibit little to no selection because of absent or reduced variation in fitness once a fitness optimum is reached). Increased transfer of non‐native viral strains to naïve salamander populations, in conjunction with local maladaptation as a result of local selection pressures, may explain the spread and emergence of ATV epizootics in A. tigrinum in western North America.     

In vivo and in vitro techniques for comparative study of antiviral T-cell responses in the amphibian Xenopus

Activation of lymphocytes in mammals is often quantified by measuring the amount of proliferation during the expansion phase of an immune response. Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation and carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester (CFSE) dilution assays are some of the techniques widely used in mammalian studies of pathogeninduced proliferation and provide a convenient way of quantifying the cellular response. We have extended the use of these proliferation assays to the amphibian Xenopus laevis. We have developed this species as a valuable comparative model to study immunity against a wellknown amphibian pathogen, Frog Virus 3 (FV3). Fluorescence activated cell sorting was used to assess the level of BrdU incorporation of lymphocytes in vivo and CFSE dilution in an in vitro activation assay. Both techniques have shown that splenic lymphocytes proliferate specifically upon FV3 challenge. This indicates that common methods for detection of proliferation upon immunologic challenge are easily applied to other vertebrate species, as it highlights the evolutionary conservation of the proliferative nature of immune responses throughout vertebrate phyla.