Genetic and Pathogenic Characterization of an Iridovirus from the Cultured Largemouth Bass <i>Micropterus salmoides</i>
Yi-Fan Zhang,
Ying Li,
Peng-Tian Li,
Jing Jiang,
Wei-Hang Zeng,
Kun Ye,
Yi-Lei Wang,
Peng-Fei Zou
Affiliations
Yi-Fan Zhang
Key Laboratory of Healthy Mariculture for the East China Sea, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Fisheries College, Jimei University, Xiamen 361021, China
Ying Li
Key Laboratory of Estuarine Ecological Security and Environmental Health, Tan Kah Kee College, Xiamen University, Zhangzhou 363105, China
Peng-Tian Li
Key Laboratory of Healthy Mariculture for the East China Sea, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Fisheries College, Jimei University, Xiamen 361021, China
Jing Jiang
Key Laboratory of Healthy Mariculture for the East China Sea, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Fisheries College, Jimei University, Xiamen 361021, China
Wei-Hang Zeng
Key Laboratory of Healthy Mariculture for the East China Sea, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Fisheries College, Jimei University, Xiamen 361021, China
Kun Ye
Key Laboratory of Healthy Mariculture for the East China Sea, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Fisheries College, Jimei University, Xiamen 361021, China
Yi-Lei Wang
Key Laboratory of Healthy Mariculture for the East China Sea, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Fisheries College, Jimei University, Xiamen 361021, China
Peng-Fei Zou
Key Laboratory of Healthy Mariculture for the East China Sea, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Fisheries College, Jimei University, Xiamen 361021, China
The largemouth bass is a freshwater aquacultured fish species of great economic importance in China. With the rapid development of aquaculture industry and the increase in the aquaculture density of the fish, various infectious pathogens, including parasites, bacteria, and viruses, have been widely spread, which have caused huge losses to the aquaculture industry. Among them, largemouth bass iridovirus (LMBV) is one of the most harmful pathogens. In the present study, a virus strain named LMBV-GDSD was isolated from cultured largemouth bass and was successfully proliferated in FHM and EPC cells, with numerous viral particles observed in the infected cells under transmission electron microscopy analysis. The annotated complete genome of LMBV-GDSD was 99,285 bp and contained 102 ORFs. Based on genomic sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis, the identified LMBV-GDSD belonged to the genus Ranavirus of Iridoviridae and was pathogenic to largemouth bass under regression infection experiments. In addition, the infection of LMBV-GDSD in largemouth bass could significantly up-regulate the expression of antiviral immune-related genes such as IRF3, IRF7, and Mx. It is thus providing valuable genetic data for a deeper understanding of the pathogenic mechanism of iridovirus in largemouth bass.
