Isolation and Preliminary Characterization of a Birnavirus from the SoleSolea Senegalensisin Southwest Spain

Abstract

A group of wild broodstock of Senegalese sole Solea senegalensis was introduced into a culture facility in southwest Spain for endocrinological studies, and fish were kept under standard culture conditions . External signs of disease (dark coloration, hyperactivity, uncoordinated swimming and behavior) appeared suddenly, and the group experienced almost 100% mortality thereafter. The few survivors from this group, kept in a different facility, developed similar signs the next year. The cause of the disease was unclear, although viruslike structures were observed in ultrathin sections of kidney from one diseased fish, and it was possible to isolate a birnavirus from all the visceral and skin homogenates from this and other specimens inoculated onto samples of the CHSE-214 (chinook salmon embryo) cell line . Further serologic, phenotypic, and biochemical characterizations of the agent indicated its similarity to infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) . Western blot assays using the anti-IPNV monoclonal antibody AS 1 reacted positively with the VP2 protein of the new agent . A complementary DNA fragment was amplified from each of the IPNV reference strains tested and from the virus isolated from S. senegalensis . In all cases, the fragments amplified were of 339 base pairs, as expected . The results show that the new isolate is an aquatic birnavirus .

Pathological obstacles of newly-introduced fish species in Mediterranean mariculture: a review

“…Mortalities induced by natural infection with this iridovirus showed a clearly inverse correlation with the farming density. Rodriguez et al (1997) identified a birnavirus as causative agent for 100% mortality in wild Senegalese sole broodstock introduced and housed into a culture facility. External signs of the disease were dark coloration, hyperactivity and uncoordinated swimming behavior.…”

A review of the culture potential of Solea solea and S. senegalensis

“…This disease is characterized by dark coloration, hyperactivity, erratic swimming and abnormal behaviour. Rodriguez et al (1997) isolated and characterized a birnavirus, named solevirus, from the skin and internal organs of moribound and dead soles. A serological comparison of solevirus with reference strains of IPNV (infections pancreatic necrosis virus) showed that the virus is clearly related to the Sp serotype, which is the most common serotype in Spain (Perez-Prieto et al, 2001).…”

Susceptibility of juvenile sole Solea senegalensis to marine isolates of viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus from wild and farmed fish

“…Most of the technical problems regarding sole rearing are being solved, but disease problems continue to threaten the commercialisation of these species. Although viral diseases have not yet achieved the prominence of bacterial diseases, some viral agents such as aquabirnaviruses and betanodaviruses have been detected or associated with disease outbreaks in both species (Hill 1982, Rodriguez et al 1997, Starkey et al 2001, Thiéry et al 2004, Cutrín et al 2007, Olveira et al 2009). In ABSTRACT: The susceptibility of sole Solea senegalensis to infection with 3 viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus (VHSV) strains obtained from wild Greenland halibut Reinhardtius hippoglossoides and farmed turbot Psetta maxima was demonstrated.…”