Evolutionary Mechanisms Involved in Emergence of Viral Haemorrhagic Septicaemia Virus (VHSV) into Cultured Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss

TY - GEN

T1 - Evolutionary Mechanisms Involved in Emergence of Viral Haemorrhagic Septicaemia Virus (VHSV) into Cultured Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss

AU - Schönherz, Anna A.

PY - 2014/5/28

Y1 - 2014/5/28

N2 - Viral haemorrhagic septicaemaia virus (VHSV) is an RNA virus of lower vertebrates that infects a wide range of freshwater, anadromous and marine fish species. VHSV is endemic among most marine and anadromous fish species but has emerged into cultured rainbow trout where it evolves towards high virulence, causing extensive losses to the aquacultre industry. Cross-species transmission and subsequent adaptation to cultured raibow trout is observed occasionally. However, the biological background facilitationg VHSV emergense has yet to be identified. In the present PhD project potential mechanisms facilitation VHSV emergence into cultured raibow trout were explored. In vivo infection trials and in selico based molecular analysis were performed to independently investigate the first two steps of viral emergence, namely initial introduction to- and subsequent adaptation and establishment within the new host species. Main findings comprise the conformation of an oral transmission route and its potential importance as founder event for cross-species transmission, the potential of marine fish species to function as viral vector for rainbow trout adaptied isolates, recombination as possible source of genetic variation, and that VHSV emergence into cultured rainbow torut was accompanied by rapid adaptive evolution within the viral glucoprotein

AB - Viral haemorrhagic septicaemaia virus (VHSV) is an RNA virus of lower vertebrates that infects a wide range of freshwater, anadromous and marine fish species. VHSV is endemic among most marine and anadromous fish species but has emerged into cultured rainbow trout where it evolves towards high virulence, causing extensive losses to the aquacultre industry. Cross-species transmission and subsequent adaptation to cultured raibow trout is observed occasionally. However, the biological background facilitationg VHSV emergense has yet to be identified. In the present PhD project potential mechanisms facilitation VHSV emergence into cultured raibow trout were explored. In vivo infection trials and in selico based molecular analysis were performed to independently investigate the first two steps of viral emergence, namely initial introduction to- and subsequent adaptation and establishment within the new host species. Main findings comprise the conformation of an oral transmission route and its potential importance as founder event for cross-species transmission, the potential of marine fish species to function as viral vector for rainbow trout adaptied isolates, recombination as possible source of genetic variation, and that VHSV emergence into cultured rainbow torut was accompanied by rapid adaptive evolution within the viral glucoprotein

M3 - PhD thesis

SN - 978-87-93176-08-9

PB - Aarhus University, Faculty of Science and Technology

ER -