Iridoviruses

A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Viruses".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 December 2023) | Viewed by 13233

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Ocean, Yantai University, Yantai 264005, China
Interests: iridovirus; anti-viral immune responses of teleost; innate immunity; host-virus interaction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
Interests: viral phylodynamics; epidemiology; diagnostics; taxonomy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Iridoviruses are large, icosahedral viruses with double-stranded DNA genomes ranging in size from 103 to 220 kbp that infect a diverse array of invertebrates and cold-blooded (ectothermic) vertebrates. Currently, complete genomic sequences of more than 40 iridoviruses are available. The current International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) report classifies members of the family Iridoviridae into two subfamilies: Alphairidovirinae and Betairidovirinae. The former comprises three genera (Ranavirus, Megalocytivirus, and Lymphocystivirus), which mainly infect ectothermic vertebrates, as does the latter (Iridovirus, Chloriridovirus, and Decapodiridovirus), whose members infect primarily invertebrates. Among these genera, ranaviruses and megalocytiviruses are significant pathogens affecting vertebrates, leading to high levels of mortality in commercially and ecologically important fish and amphibians. Recently emerged Decapodiridoviruses have demonstrated a detrimental impact on crustaceans and have thus received increasing attention. This Special Issue aims to publish all types of manuscripts (i.e., reviews, research articles, and short communications) covering a wide range of topics related to iridoviruses, including, but not limited to: the biology of iridoviruses, pathogenesis of iridoviruses, virus-host interactions, immune responses to iridoviruses, identification of new species and/or new iridovirus variants, and iridoviruses-based vaccines.

Prof. Dr. Jian Zhang
Dr. Thomas B. Waltzek
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • iridovirus
  • viral immune evasion
  • anti-viral immune responses
  • viral vaccine
  • viral pathogenesis
  • viral epidemiology

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 2500 KiB  
Article
The Binding, Infection, and Promoted Growth of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis by the Ranavirus FV3
by Francisco De Jesús Andino, Anton Davydenko, Rebecca J. Webb and Jacques Robert
Viruses 2024, 16(1), 154; https://doi.org/10.3390/v16010154 - 20 Jan 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2548
Abstract
Increasing reports suggest the occurrence of co-infection between Ranaviruses such as Frog Virus 3 (FV3) and the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) in various amphibian species. However, the potential direct interaction of these two pathogens has not been examined to date. In this [...] Read more.
Increasing reports suggest the occurrence of co-infection between Ranaviruses such as Frog Virus 3 (FV3) and the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) in various amphibian species. However, the potential direct interaction of these two pathogens has not been examined to date. In this study, we investigated whether FV3 can interact with Bd in vitro using qPCR, conventional microscopy, and immunofluorescent microscopy. Our results reveal the unexpected ability of FV3 to bind, promote aggregation, productively infect, and significantly increase Bd growth in vitro. To extend these results in vivo, we assessed the impact of FV3 on Xenopus tropicalis frogs previously infected with Bd. Consistent with in vitro results, FV3 exposure to previously Bd-infected X. tropicalis significantly increased Bd loads and decreased the host’s survival. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Iridoviruses)
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14 pages, 2220 KiB  
Article
Chinese Giant Salamander Iridovirus 025L Is a Viral Essential Gene
by Zijing Liu, Daofa Xie, Shirong Nong, Yingzi Wu, Suxian Huang, Xianhui He, Tianhong Zhou and Wei Li
Viruses 2023, 15(3), 617; https://doi.org/10.3390/v15030617 - 23 Feb 2023
Viewed by 1477
Abstract
Ranavirus is a large nucleocytoplasmic DNA virus. Chinese giant salamander iridovirus (CGSIV) belongs to the ranavirus genus, and its replication involves a series of essential viral genes. Viral PCNA is a gene closely associated with viral replication. CGSIV−025L also encodes PCNA−like genes. We [...] Read more.
Ranavirus is a large nucleocytoplasmic DNA virus. Chinese giant salamander iridovirus (CGSIV) belongs to the ranavirus genus, and its replication involves a series of essential viral genes. Viral PCNA is a gene closely associated with viral replication. CGSIV−025L also encodes PCNA−like genes. We have described the function of CGSIV−025L in virus replication. The promoter of CGSIV−025L is activated during viral infection, and it is an early (E) gene that can be effectively transcribed after viral infection. CGSIV−025L overexpression promoted viral replication and viral DNA replication. siRNA interfered with CGSIV−025L expression and attenuated viral replication and viral DNA replication. The Δ025L−CGSIV strain with the deletion of CGSIV−025L could not replicate normally and could be rescued by the replenishment of 025L. CGSIV−025L was proven to be an essential gene for CGSIV by overexpression, interference, and deletion mutation experiments. CGSIV−025L was found to interact with CGSIV−062L by yeast two−hybrid, CoIP, and GST pulldown. Thus, the current study demonstrated that CGSIV−025L is an essential gene of CGSIV, which may be involved in viral infection by participating in viral DNA replication and interacting with replication−related proteins. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Iridoviruses)
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11 pages, 1894 KiB  
Article
New Insights into Lymphocystis Disease Virus Genome Diversity
by Jessica Benkaroun, Sven M. Bergmann, Angela Römer-Oberdörfer, Menekse Didem Demircan, Cüneyt Tamer, Gayatri Rajendra Kachh and Manfred Weidmann
Viruses 2022, 14(12), 2741; https://doi.org/10.3390/v14122741 - 8 Dec 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2380
Abstract
Lymphocystis disease viruses (LCDVs) are viruses that infect bony fish which has been found in different locations across the globe. Four virus species have been classified by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV), despite remarkable discrepancies in genome size. Whole genome [...] Read more.
Lymphocystis disease viruses (LCDVs) are viruses that infect bony fish which has been found in different locations across the globe. Four virus species have been classified by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV), despite remarkable discrepancies in genome size. Whole genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of LCDVs from wild fish from the North Sea and partial sequences from gilthead sea bream of an aquafarm located in the Aegean Sea in Turkey confirm that the LCDV1 genome at 100 kb is approximately half the size of the genomes of LCDV2-4. Since the fish species, of which LCDV1 was isolated, differ taxonomically at the order level, co-speciation can be excluded as the driver of the adaptation of the genome of this nucleocytoplasmic large DNA virus, but may represent an adaptation to the lifestyle of this demersal fish in the northeast Atlantic. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Iridoviruses)
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16 pages, 2386 KiB  
Article
A Novel Iridovirus Discovered in Deep-Sea Carnivorous Sponges
by Marta Canuti, Gabrielle Large, Joost T. P. Verhoeven and Suzanne C. Dufour
Viruses 2022, 14(8), 1595; https://doi.org/10.3390/v14081595 - 22 Jul 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2828
Abstract
Carnivorous sponges (family Cladorhizidae) use small invertebrates as their main source of nutrients. We discovered a novel iridovirus (carnivorous sponge-associated iridovirus, CaSpA-IV) in Chondrocladia grandis and Cladorhiza oxeata specimens collected in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans at depths of 537–852 m. The sequenced [...] Read more.
Carnivorous sponges (family Cladorhizidae) use small invertebrates as their main source of nutrients. We discovered a novel iridovirus (carnivorous sponge-associated iridovirus, CaSpA-IV) in Chondrocladia grandis and Cladorhiza oxeata specimens collected in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans at depths of 537–852 m. The sequenced viral genome (~190,000 bp) comprised 185 predicted ORFs, including those encoding 26 iridoviral core proteins, and phylogenetic analyses showed that CaSpA-IV is a close relative to members of the genus Decapodiridovirus and highly identical to a partially sequenced virus pathogenic to decapod shrimps. CaSpA-IV was found in various anatomical regions of six C. grandis (sphere, stem, root) from the Gulf of Maine and Baffin Bay and of two C. oxeata (sphere, secondary axis) from Baffin Bay. Partial MCP sequencing revealed a divergent virus (CaSpA-IV-2) in one C. oxeata. The analysis of a 10 nt long tandem repeat showed a number of repeats consistent across sub-sections of the same sponges but different between animals, suggesting the presence of different strains. As the genetic material of crustaceans, particularly from the zooplanktonic copepod order Calanoida, was identified in the investigated samples, further studies are required to elucidate whether CaSpA-IV infects the carnivorous sponges, their crustacean prey, or both. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Iridoviruses)
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Review

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20 pages, 426 KiB  
Review
Megalocytivirus and Other Members of the Family Iridoviridae in Finfish: A Review of the Etiology, Epidemiology, Diagnosis, Prevention and Control
by Pan Qin, Hetron Mweemba Munang’andu, Cheng Xu and Jianjun Xie
Viruses 2023, 15(6), 1359; https://doi.org/10.3390/v15061359 - 12 Jun 2023
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3004
Abstract
Aquaculture has expanded to become the fastest growing food-producing sector in the world. However, its expansion has come under threat due to an increase in diseases caused by pathogens such as iridoviruses commonly found in aquatic environments used for fish farming. Of the [...] Read more.
Aquaculture has expanded to become the fastest growing food-producing sector in the world. However, its expansion has come under threat due to an increase in diseases caused by pathogens such as iridoviruses commonly found in aquatic environments used for fish farming. Of the seven members belonging to the family Iridoviridae, the three genera causing diseases in fish comprise ranaviruses, lymphocystiviruses and megalocytiviruses. These three genera are serious impediments to the expansion of global aquaculture because of their tropism for a wide range of farmed-fish species in which they cause high mortality. As economic losses caused by these iridoviruses in aquaculture continue to rise, the urgent need for effective control strategies increases. As a consequence, these viruses have attracted a lot of research interest in recent years. The functional role of some of the genes that form the structure of iridoviruses has not been elucidated. There is a lack of information on the predisposing factors leading to iridovirus infections in fish, an absence of information on the risk factors leading to disease outbreaks, and a lack of data on the chemical and physical properties of iridoviruses needed for the implementation of biosecurity control measures. Thus, the synopsis put forth herein provides an update of knowledge gathered from studies carried out so far aimed at addressing the aforesaid informational gaps. In summary, this review provides an update on the etiology of different iridoviruses infecting finfish and epidemiological factors leading to the occurrence of disease outbreaks. In addition, the review provides an update on the cell lines developed for virus isolation and culture, the diagnostic tools used for virus detection and characterization, the current advances in vaccine development and the use of biosecurity in the control of iridoviruses in aquaculture. Overall, we envision that the information put forth in this review will contribute to developing effective control strategies against iridovirus infections in aquaculture. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Iridoviruses)
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