Gene expression changes with tumor disease and leech parasitism in the juvenile green sea turtle skin transcriptome

Kane, Rachael A.; Christodoulides, Nicholas; Jensen, Irelyn M.; Becker, Donald J.; Mansfield, Katherine; Savage, Anna E.

doi:10.1016/j.gene.2021.145800

Cited by 6 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 80 publications

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“…Although previous studies have reported that sea turtles are infected with ChHV5 after returning to neritic habitat from pelagic stage, Rittenburg et al [29] suggested that the development of FP is influenced by complex interconnected factors such as presence of vectors, super spreaders, and transmission through the environment. Hence, the host response and transmission of the virus varies across populations [29][30][31].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A study by Work et al [31] suggested that the epizootiology of FP is associated with the life cycle of sea turtles. The hatchlings spend years in the pelagic (open ocean) environment and find a neritic (nearshore) foraging ground as juveniles and sub-adults [30][31][32]. The juveniles acquire ChHV5 infection soon after migrating to foraging ground from pelagic environment through direct contact or leeches [31,32].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Environment co-factors such as water temperature and habitat degradation have been suggested to play a role in FP pathogenesis [34,35]. Similarly, viral latency, viral load thresholds, and other ecological factors contribute in the tumour expression [30,35].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is made possible as the juvenile and sub-adult sea turtles undergo long distance migrations known as pelagic life stage, migrating between the juvenile nursery habitat and developmental areas while residing there for years [38]. Furthermore, as sea turtles are highly migratory animals, their habitual place differs distinctly through different life stages and FP prevalence varies among species and regions [30]. Thus, there is a high probability that the sea turtles acquired the infection during this period of their life cycle.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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First Evidence of Chelonid Herpesvirus 5 (ChHV5) Infection in Green Turtles (Chelonia mydas) from Sabah, Borneo

2021

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Fibropapillomatosis (FP) of sea turtles is characterised by cutaneous tumours and is associated with Chelonid herpesvirus 5 (ChHV5), an alphaherpesvirus from the family Herpesviridae. Here, we provide the first evidence of ChHV5-associated FP in endangered Green turtles (Chelonia mydas) from Sabah, which is located at the northern region of Malaysian Borneo. The aims of our study were firstly, to determine the presence of ChHV5 in both tumour exhibiting and tumour-free turtles using molecular techniques and secondly, to determine the phylogeography of ChHV5 in Sabah. We also aim to provide evidence of ChHV5 infection through histopathological examinations. A total of 115 Green turtles were sampled from Mabul Island, Sabah. We observed three Green turtles that exhibited FP tumours and were positive for ChHV5. In addition, six clinically healthy turtles (with no presence of tumours) were also positive for the virus based on Polymerase Chain Reaction of three viral genes (Capsid protein gene UL18, Glycoprotein H gene UL22, and Glycoprotein B gene UL27). The prevalence of the ChHV5 was 5.22% in asymptomatic Green turtles. Epidermal intranuclear inclusions were identified in tumour lesions upon histopathological examination. In addition, phylogenetic analyses of the UL18, UL22, UL27, and UL30 gene sequences showed a worldwide distribution of the ChHV5 strain with no clear distinction based on geographical location suggesting an interoceanic connection and movement of the sea turtles. Thus, the emergence of ChHV5 in Green turtles in the waters of Sabah could indicate a possible threat to sea turtle populations in the future and requires further monitoring of the populations along the Bornean coast.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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First Evidence of Chelonid Herpesvirus 5 (ChHV5) Infection in Green Turtles (Chelonia mydas) from Sabah, Borneo

2021

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“…Studies of sea turtle immune function have been focused on the protection and conservation of turtle wildlife from threats such as FP, parasites, or environmental contaminants [42,[49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56]73,75,76,[88][89][90][91][92]. Functional studies of the turtle immune system have been carried out on red-eared slider turtles Trachemys scripta (Thunberg, 1792)) [19][20][21][22][23], Caspian turtle or striped-neck terrapin (Mauremys capsica (Gmelin, 1774)) [27][28][29][30][31] and Chinese softshelled turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis (Wiegmann, 1853)) [14,87,87,93]. In this review, we discuss the innate and adaptive immune systems of sea turtles, and we report what studies have examined the effects of the environment on the sea turtle immune function.…”

Section: Chelydra Serpentinamentioning

confidence: 99%

Immunity in Sea Turtles: Review of a Host-Pathogen Arms Race Millions of Years in the Running

Nash

Ryan

2023

Animals

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The immune system of sea turtles is not completely understood. Sea turtles (as reptiles) bridge a unique evolutionary gap, being ectothermic vertebrates like fish and amphibians and amniotes like birds and mammals. Turtles are ectotherms; thus, their immune system is influenced by environmental conditions like temperature and season. We aim to review the turtle immune system and note what studies have investigated sea turtles and the effect of the environment on the immune response. Turtles rely heavily on the nonspecific innate response rather than the specific adaptive response. Turtles’ innate immune effectors include antimicrobial peptides, complement, and nonspecific leukocytes. The antiviral defense is understudied in terms of the diversity of pathogen receptors and interferon function. Turtles also mount adaptive responses to pathogens. Lymphoid structures responsible for lymphocyte activation and maturation are either missing in reptiles or function is affected by season. Turtles are a marker of health for their marine environment, and their immune system is commonly dysregulated because of disease or contaminants. Fibropapillomatosis (FP) is a tumorous disease that afflicts sea turtles and is thought to be caused by a virus and an environmental factor. We aim, by exploring the current understanding of the immune system in turtles, to aid the investigation of environmental factors that contribute to the pathogenesis of this disease and provide options for immunotherapy.

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Oncogenic Animal Herpesviruses

Zafar,

Akbar,

et al. 2024

Current Opinion in Virology

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Gene expression changes with tumor disease and leech parasitism in the juvenile green sea turtle skin transcriptome

Cited by 6 publications

References 80 publications

First Evidence of Chelonid Herpesvirus 5 (ChHV5) Infection in Green Turtles (Chelonia mydas) from Sabah, Borneo

First Evidence of Chelonid Herpesvirus 5 (ChHV5) Infection in Green Turtles (Chelonia mydas) from Sabah, Borneo

Immunity in Sea Turtles: Review of a Host-Pathogen Arms Race Millions of Years in the Running

Oncogenic Animal Herpesviruses

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