Distribution and Prevalence of the Australian Non-Pathogenic Rabbit Calicivirus Is Correlated with Rainfall and Temperature

Liu, June; Fordham, Damien A.; Cooke, Brian; Cox, Tarnya; Mutze, Greg; Strive, Tanja

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0113976

Cited by 27 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 48 publications

(60 reference statements)

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“…Infection with this benign relative of RHDV can provide partial and transient cross protection against RHDV infection by reducing the severity of RHD, leading to increased survival rates (35). The distribution of RCV-A1 is limited to the more temperate and wetter climate zones of southeastern Australia (36). Notably, all recent RHDV isolates from the southeastern states cluster in the same lineage (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Much of the environment in central Australia is comprised of arid and semiarid land with more continuous populations of rabbits (37). Furthermore, the blowfly and bush fly, which are vectors for RHDV transmission (36), similarly maintain more continuous populations in these arid regions. Together, these factors would promote greater viral genetic mixing, in turn increasing viral diversity in South Australia (37).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Comparative Phylodynamics of Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus in Australia and New Zealand

Eden

Kovaliski

Duckworth

et al. 2015

J Virol

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The introduction of rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) into Australia and New Zealand during the 1990s as a means of controlling feral rabbits is an important case study in viral emergence. Both epidemics are exceptional in that the founder viruses share an origin and the timing of their release is known, providing a unique opportunity to compare the evolution of a single virus in distinct naive populations. We examined the evolution and spread of RHDV in Australia and New Zealand through a genome-wide evolutionary analysis, including data from 28 newly sequenced RHDV field isolates. Following the release of the Australian inoculum strain into New Zealand, no subsequent mixing of the populations occurred, with viruses from both countries forming distinct groups. Strikingly, the rate of evolution in the capsid gene was higher in the Australian viruses than in those from New Zealand, most likely due to the presence of transient deleterious mutations in the former. However, estimates of both substitution rates and population dynamics were strongly sample dependent, such that small changes in sample composition had an important impact on evolutionary parameters. Phylogeographic analysis revealed a clear spatial structure in the Australian RHDV strains, with a major division between those viruses from western and eastern states. Importantly, RHDV sequences from the state where the virus was first released, South Australia, had the greatest diversity and were diffuse throughout both geographic lineages, such that this region was likely a source population for the subsequent spread of the virus across the country. IMPORTANCE

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative Phylodynamics of Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus in Australia and New Zealand

Eden

Kovaliski

Duckworth

et al. 2015

J Virol

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“…Although the cross-protection conveyed by antibodies against RCV-A1 is both partial and transient (28,33), it is impeding effective rabbit control efforts in Australia. RCV-A1 is found predominantly in the more temperate regions of Australia with higher than average rainfall, where RHDV has proven to be less effective in rabbit control (9,(34)(35)(36).…”

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

“…2) (9,35) can in part be explained by differences in mechanisms of transmission. RCV-A1 (and other nonpathogenic lagoviruses) are likely spread exclusively via the fecal-oral route (10,35). Although RHDV utilizes the same transmission route, it has also acquired mechanical insect transmission (37,38), involving both bushfly (Musca vetustissima) and blow fly (Calliphoridae) species in Australia, thereby enabling longer-distance spread between rabbit populations that are not directly connected (24,(39)(40)(41).…”

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Benign Rabbit Caliciviruses Exhibit Evolutionary Dynamics Similar to Those of Their Virulent Relatives

Mahar

Nicholson

Eden

et al. 2016

J Virol

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Two closely related caliciviruses cocirculate in Australia: rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) and rabbit calicivirus Australia 1 (RCV-A1). RCV-A1 causes benign enteric infections in the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in Australia and New Zealand, while its close relative RHDV causes a highly pathogenic infection of the liver in the same host. The comparison of these viruses provides important information on the nature and trajectory of virulence evolution, particularly as highly virulent strains of RHDV may have evolved from nonpathogenic ancestors such as RCV-A1. To determine the evolution of RCV-A1 we sequenced the full-length genomes of 44 RCV-A1 samples isolated from healthy rabbits and compared key evolutionary parameters to those of its virulent relative, RHDV. Despite their marked differences in pathogenicity and tissue tropism, RCV-A1 and RHDV have evolved in a very similar manner. Both viruses have evolved at broadly similar rates, suggesting that their dynamics are largely shaped by high background mutation rates, and both exhibit occasional recombination and an evolutionary environment dominated by purifying selection. In addition, our comparative analysis revealed that there have been multiple changes in both virulence and tissue tropism in the evolutionary history of these and related viruses. Finally, these new genomic data suggest that either RCV-A1 was introduced into Australia after the introduction of myxoma virus as a biocontrol agent in 1950 or there was drastic reduction of the rabbit population, and hence of RCV-A1 genetic diversity, perhaps coincident with the emergence of myxoma virus. IMPORTANCEThe comparison of closely related viruses that differ profoundly in propensity to cause disease in their hosts offers a powerful opportunity to reveal the causes of changes in virulence and to study how such changes alter the evolutionary dynamics of these pathogens. Here we describe such a novel comparison involving two closely related RNA viruses that cocirculate in Australia, the highly virulent rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) and the nonpathogenic rabbit calicivirus Australia 1 (RCV-A1). Both viruses infect the European rabbit, but they differ in virulence, tissue tropism, and mechanisms of transmission. Surprisingly, and despite these fundamental differences, RCV-A1 and RHDV have evolved at very similar (high) rates and with strong purifying selection. Furthermore, candidate key mutations were identified that may play a role in virulence and/or tissue tropism and therefore warrant further investigation. R evealing the factors that determine the evolution of virulence in viruses and identifying how changes in virulence might impact viral evolutionary dynamics are key queries in the study of infectious disease evolution. Although there is a large body of work on revealing the relationship between virulence and transmissibility, most studies of virulence evolution involve the retrospective analysis of single viruses (1-4). However, the comparison of closely related...

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Models of spatiotemporal variation in rabbit abundance reveal management hot spots for an invasive species

Brown

Wells

Roy‐Dufresne

et al. 2020

Ecological Applications

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The European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is a notorious economic and environmental pest species in its invasive range. To better understand the population and range dynamics of this species, 41 yr of abundance data have been collected from 116 unique sites across a broad range of climatic and environmental conditions in Australia. We analyzed this time series of abundance data to determine whether interannual variation in climatic conditions can be used to map historic, contemporary, and potential future fluctuations in rabbit abundance from regional to continental scales. We constructed a hierarchical Bayesian regression model of relative abundance that corrected for observation error and seasonal biases. The corrected abundances were regressed against environmental and disease variables in order to project high spatiotemporal resolution, continent‐wide rabbit abundances. We show that rabbit abundance in Australia is highly variable in space and time, being driven primarily by internnual variation in temperature and precipitation in concert with the prevalence of a non‐pathogenic virus. Moreover, we show that internnual variation in local spatial abundances can be mapped effectively at a continental scale using highly resolved spatiotemporal predictors, allowing “hot spots” of persistently high rabbit abundance to be identified. Importantly, cross‐validated model performance was fair to excellent within and across distinct climate zones. Long‐term monitoring data for invasive species can be used to map fine‐scale spatiotemporal fluctuations in abundance patterns when accurately accounting for inherent sampling biases. Our analysis provides ecologists and pest managers with a clearer understanding of the determinants of rabbit abundance in Australia, offering an important new approach for predicting spatial abundance patterns of invasive species at the near‐term temporal scales that are directly relevant to resource management.

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Distribution and Prevalence of the Australian Non-Pathogenic Rabbit Calicivirus Is Correlated with Rainfall and Temperature

Cited by 27 publications

References 48 publications

Comparative Phylodynamics of Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus in Australia and New Zealand

Comparative Phylodynamics of Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus in Australia and New Zealand

Benign Rabbit Caliciviruses Exhibit Evolutionary Dynamics Similar to Those of Their Virulent Relatives

Models of spatiotemporal variation in rabbit abundance reveal management hot spots for an invasive species

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