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Open AccessArticle
Evaluating Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) as a Natural or Alternative Host for Piscine Myocarditis Virus (PMCV) Infection
by
Ingvild B. Nyman
Ingvild B. Nyman 1,
Øystein Wessel
Øystein Wessel 1
,
Håvard Bjørgen
Håvard Bjørgen 1
,
Marta Alarcon
Marta Alarcon 2
,
Torstein Tengs
Torstein Tengs 3 and
Espen Rimstad
Espen Rimstad 1,*
1
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, 1433 Ås, Norway
2
Pharmaq Analytic, Harbitzaléen 2A, 0275 Oslo, Norway
3
Nofima, Osloveien 1, 1433 Ås, Norway
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Pathogens 2024, 13(9), 744; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens13090744 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 4 July 2024
/
Revised: 9 August 2024
/
Accepted: 26 August 2024
/
Published: 30 August 2024
Abstract
Cardiomyopathy syndrome (CMS) caused by piscine myocarditis virus (PMCV) has emerged with the rise of the aquaculture of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). The lack of cell culture cultivation has hampered the study of this infection. In this study, samples from naturally PMCV-infected Atlantic salmon from different commercial farms were collected and used. In situ hybridization (ISH) revealed intense staining of PMCV RNA in myocardial cells in the spongiform layer of the heart ventricle but almost no staining in the compact layer. In the kidneys, only sporadic staining was seen. Viral RNA was present in all organs, with the highest loads in the heart, kidney, and spleen. The high viral PMCV RNA loads in the heart were due to extensive viral mRNA transcription. The high ratio of viral mRNA to viral genomic dsRNA indicated active transcription but limited production of new viral particles. This suggests that the histopathological changes in the heart are caused by viral mRNA and corresponding viral proteins and not by virus particle formation. The production of full-length transcripts is regulated, with a reduction in the relative number of ORF3-containing transcripts at high transcription rates. Efforts to identify alternative hosts, such as fungi, were inconclusive, as fungal sequences were found inconsistently in the salmon tissue samples. The results of this study reinforce the need for further research to fully understand PMCV’s life cycle and potential alternative hosts and its whereabouts when it is not infecting the hearts of the Atlantic salmon.
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MDPI and ACS Style
Nyman, I.B.; Wessel, Ø.; Bjørgen, H.; Alarcon, M.; Tengs, T.; Rimstad, E.
Evaluating Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) as a Natural or Alternative Host for Piscine Myocarditis Virus (PMCV) Infection. Pathogens 2024, 13, 744.
https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens13090744
AMA Style
Nyman IB, Wessel Ø, Bjørgen H, Alarcon M, Tengs T, Rimstad E.
Evaluating Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) as a Natural or Alternative Host for Piscine Myocarditis Virus (PMCV) Infection. Pathogens. 2024; 13(9):744.
https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens13090744
Chicago/Turabian Style
Nyman, Ingvild B., Øystein Wessel, Håvard Bjørgen, Marta Alarcon, Torstein Tengs, and Espen Rimstad.
2024. "Evaluating Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) as a Natural or Alternative Host for Piscine Myocarditis Virus (PMCV) Infection" Pathogens 13, no. 9: 744.
https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens13090744
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