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Contribution to Herpesvirus Surveillance in Beaked Whales Stranded in the Canary Islands

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Herpesviruses (HVs) are a large family of DNA viruses infecting animals (including insects and mollusks) and humans. Cetaceans can be also infected by HVs presenting different range of lesions, from dermatitis to meningoencephalitis, or being asymptomatic. Several studies have addres...

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Autores principales: Felipe-Jiménez, Idaira, Fernández, Antonio, Andrada, Marisa, Arbelo, Manuel, Segura-Göthlin, Simone, Colom-Rivero, Ana, Sierra, Eva
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8300104/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34203458
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani11071923
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author Felipe-Jiménez, Idaira
Fernández, Antonio
Andrada, Marisa
Arbelo, Manuel
Segura-Göthlin, Simone
Colom-Rivero, Ana
Sierra, Eva
author_facet Felipe-Jiménez, Idaira
Fernández, Antonio
Andrada, Marisa
Arbelo, Manuel
Segura-Göthlin, Simone
Colom-Rivero, Ana
Sierra, Eva
author_sort Felipe-Jiménez, Idaira
collection PubMed
description SIMPLE SUMMARY: Herpesviruses (HVs) are a large family of DNA viruses infecting animals (including insects and mollusks) and humans. Cetaceans can be also infected by HVs presenting different range of lesions, from dermatitis to meningoencephalitis, or being asymptomatic. Several studies have addressed the question of HVs in cetaceans, although no previous systematic survey of HV in beaked whales (BWs) (Ziphiidae family) has been previously performed. The family Ziphiidae, which includes 22 species in 6 genera, is one of the most widespread families of cetaceans, with a strict oceanic habitat pattern. Beaked whales, Cuvier’s BW in particular, are one of the deepest diving whales and are of particular interest because of a notable relationship between military operations employing mid-frequency sonar and the mass stranding of BWs in different geographic areas, including the Canary Islands. In this study, we analyzed 55 BWs (294 samples) stranded in the Canary Islands from 1990 to 2017 by molecular methods (conventional nested polymerase chain reaction). Our results showed that 8 BWs were infected by HVs, although only three animals displayed lesions indicative of active viral replication. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that HV-BW sequences are species-specific, although more studies are needed to better address this question. ABSTRACT: Herpesviruses (HVs) (Alpha- and Gammaherpesvirinae subfamilies) have been detected in several species of cetaceans with different pathological implications. However, available information on their presence in beaked whales (BWs) is still scarce. In this study, a total of 55 BWs (35 Ziphius cavirostris and 20 animals belonging to the Mesoplodon genus) were analyzed. Samples (n = 294) were obtained from BWs stranded along the coasts of the Canary Islands (1990–2017). Molecular detection of HV was performed by means of a conventional nested PCR based on the DNA polymerase gene. Herpesvirus was detected in 14.45% (8/55) of the analyzed BWs, including 2 positive animals from a previous survey. A percentage positivity of 8.57% was found within the Cuvier’s BW group, while the percentage of positivity rose to 25% within the Mesoplodon genus group (three M. densirostris, one M. europaeus, and one M. bidens). All the obtained sequences from this study belonged to the Alphaherpesvirinae subfamily, from which three are considered novel sequences, all of them within the Mesoplodon genus group. In addition, to our knowledge, this is the first description of HV infection in Gervais’ and Sowerby’s BWs. Three out of eight HV-positive BWs displayed histopathological lesions indicative of active viral replication.
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spelling pubmed-83001042021-07-24 Contribution to Herpesvirus Surveillance in Beaked Whales Stranded in the Canary Islands Felipe-Jiménez, Idaira Fernández, Antonio Andrada, Marisa Arbelo, Manuel Segura-Göthlin, Simone Colom-Rivero, Ana Sierra, Eva Animals (Basel) Article SIMPLE SUMMARY: Herpesviruses (HVs) are a large family of DNA viruses infecting animals (including insects and mollusks) and humans. Cetaceans can be also infected by HVs presenting different range of lesions, from dermatitis to meningoencephalitis, or being asymptomatic. Several studies have addressed the question of HVs in cetaceans, although no previous systematic survey of HV in beaked whales (BWs) (Ziphiidae family) has been previously performed. The family Ziphiidae, which includes 22 species in 6 genera, is one of the most widespread families of cetaceans, with a strict oceanic habitat pattern. Beaked whales, Cuvier’s BW in particular, are one of the deepest diving whales and are of particular interest because of a notable relationship between military operations employing mid-frequency sonar and the mass stranding of BWs in different geographic areas, including the Canary Islands. In this study, we analyzed 55 BWs (294 samples) stranded in the Canary Islands from 1990 to 2017 by molecular methods (conventional nested polymerase chain reaction). Our results showed that 8 BWs were infected by HVs, although only three animals displayed lesions indicative of active viral replication. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that HV-BW sequences are species-specific, although more studies are needed to better address this question. ABSTRACT: Herpesviruses (HVs) (Alpha- and Gammaherpesvirinae subfamilies) have been detected in several species of cetaceans with different pathological implications. However, available information on their presence in beaked whales (BWs) is still scarce. In this study, a total of 55 BWs (35 Ziphius cavirostris and 20 animals belonging to the Mesoplodon genus) were analyzed. Samples (n = 294) were obtained from BWs stranded along the coasts of the Canary Islands (1990–2017). Molecular detection of HV was performed by means of a conventional nested PCR based on the DNA polymerase gene. Herpesvirus was detected in 14.45% (8/55) of the analyzed BWs, including 2 positive animals from a previous survey. A percentage positivity of 8.57% was found within the Cuvier’s BW group, while the percentage of positivity rose to 25% within the Mesoplodon genus group (three M. densirostris, one M. europaeus, and one M. bidens). All the obtained sequences from this study belonged to the Alphaherpesvirinae subfamily, from which three are considered novel sequences, all of them within the Mesoplodon genus group. In addition, to our knowledge, this is the first description of HV infection in Gervais’ and Sowerby’s BWs. Three out of eight HV-positive BWs displayed histopathological lesions indicative of active viral replication. MDPI 2021-06-28 /pmc/articles/PMC8300104/ /pubmed/34203458 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani11071923 Text en © 2021 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Felipe-Jiménez, Idaira
Fernández, Antonio
Andrada, Marisa
Arbelo, Manuel
Segura-Göthlin, Simone
Colom-Rivero, Ana
Sierra, Eva
Contribution to Herpesvirus Surveillance in Beaked Whales Stranded in the Canary Islands
title Contribution to Herpesvirus Surveillance in Beaked Whales Stranded in the Canary Islands
title_full Contribution to Herpesvirus Surveillance in Beaked Whales Stranded in the Canary Islands
title_fullStr Contribution to Herpesvirus Surveillance in Beaked Whales Stranded in the Canary Islands
title_full_unstemmed Contribution to Herpesvirus Surveillance in Beaked Whales Stranded in the Canary Islands
title_short Contribution to Herpesvirus Surveillance in Beaked Whales Stranded in the Canary Islands
title_sort contribution to herpesvirus surveillance in beaked whales stranded in the canary islands
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8300104/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34203458
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani11071923
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