Detection of Mustelid Herpesvirus-1 Infected European Badgers (Meles meles) in the British Isles

King, Donald P.; Mutukwa, Naledi; Lesellier, Sandrine; Cheeseman, C. L.; Chambers, M. A.; Banks, M.

doi:10.7589/0090-3558-40.1.99

Cited by 18 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Histologically, the border of the ulcers contained clusters of cells with basophilic to amphophilic nuclear inclusions; a pan-herpesvirus nested PCR polymerase assay and DNA sequencing confirmed the infection. Mustelid herpesvirus-1 was also identified from fibroblast cultures, and viral-specific IgG was isolated from wild badgers in the British Isles (King et al, 2004). In 2012, a novel mustelid herpesvirus-2 was identified in oral ulcers from northern sea otters stranding during the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill (Tseng et al, 2012).…”

Section: Dna Virusesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mustelids

Williams¹,

Huntington²,

Miller³

2018

Pathology of Wildlife and Zoo Animals

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Section: Dna Virusesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mustelids

Williams¹,

Huntington²,

Miller³

2018

Pathology of Wildlife and Zoo Animals

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“…European badgers are susceptible to a wide taxonomic range of pathogens: for example, viral [mustelid herpesvirus (MHV); King et al . ], bacterial ( Salmonella ; Wilson et al . ), protozoan [ Trypanosoma pestanai (Macdonald et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, social interactions that involve contact between individuals that could spread pathogens are common, such as alloparental care (Dugdale et al 2010), allogrooming (Stewart & Macdonald 2003;Johnson et al 2004) and allomarking (which facilitates the exchange of subcaudal pouch bacteria between group members; Buesching et al 2003;Sin et al 2012a). European badgers are susceptible to a wide taxonomic range of pathogens: for example, viral [mustelid herpesvirus (MHV); King et al 2004], bacterial (Salmonella; Wilson et al 2003), protozoan [Trypanosoma pestanai ; Eimeria melis and Isospora melis (Newman et al 2001)], helminth (Torres et al 2001) and invertebrate ectoparasites [Paraceras melis, Trichodectes melis and Ixodes hexagonus (Cox et al 1999;San 2007)]. Some pathogens, such as E. melis in badgers, cause host morbidity and high juvenile mortality (Newman et al 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pathogen burden, co‐infection and major histocompatibility complex variability in the European badger (Meles meles)

et al. 2014

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Pathogen-mediated selection is thought to maintain the extreme diversity in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes, operating through the heterozygote advantage, rare-allele advantage and fluctuating selection mechanisms. Heterozygote advantage (i.e. recognizing and binding a wider range of antigens than homozygotes) is expected to be more detectable when multiple pathogens are considered simultaneously. Here, we test whether MHC diversity in a wild population of European badgers (Meles meles) is driven by pathogen-mediated selection. We examined individual prevalence (infected or not), infection intensity and co-infection of 13 pathogens from a range of taxa and examined their relationships with MHC class I and class II variability. This population has a variable, but relatively low, number of MHC alleles and is infected by a variety of naturally occurring pathogens, making it very suitable for the investigation of MHC-pathogen relationships. We found associations between pathogen infections and specific MHC haplotypes and alleles. Co-infection status was not correlated with MHC heterozygosity, but there was evidence of heterozygote advantage against individual pathogen infections. This suggests that rare-allele advantages and/or fluctuating selection, and heterozygote advantage are probably the selective forces shaping MHC diversity in this species. We show stronger evidence for MHC associations with infection intensity than for prevalence and conclude that examining both pathogen prevalence and infection intensity is important. Moreover, examination of a large number and diversity of pathogens, and both MHC class I and II genes (which have different functions), provide an improved understanding of the mechanisms driving MHC diversity.

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“…AF376034), and a c-HV, currently classified as Mustelid gammaherpesvirus 1 (MusGHV-1; GenBank no. AF376034; Banks et al 2002) is highly prevalent in the blood of badgers throughout the UK (King et al 2004), but their pathogenicities are unknown.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Genital Tract Screening Finds Widespread Infection With Mustelid Gammaherpesvirus 1 in the European Badger (Meles Meles)

Kent

Ehlers

Mendum

et al. 2018

Journal of Wildlife Diseases

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: Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) can be important drivers of population dynamics because of their negative effects on reproduction. However, screening for STDs, especially in wildlife populations, is widely neglected. Using the promiscuous, polygynandrous European badger ( Meles meles) as a model, we investigated the presence and prevalence of herpesviruses (HVs) in a wild, high-density population and assessed potential differences in somatic fitness and female reproductive condition between infected and uninfected individuals. We collected n=98 genital swabs from 71 females (51 adults and 20 cubs) and 27 males (26 adults and 1 cub) during spring and summer 2015. Using a PCR specific for a mustelid α-HV, all genital-swab samples tested negative. In a panherpes PCR, a γ-HV was found in 55% (54/98; 39 adults and 15 cubs), identified as mustelid gammaherpesvirus 1 (MusGHV-1) using DNA sequencing. This contrasts with the results of a previous study, which reported MusGHV-1 in 98% (354/361) of blood samples taken from 218 badgers in the same population using PCR. The detection of MusHV-1 in the female reproductive tract strongly indicates the potential for a horizontal and, likely also a vertical, route of transmission. Our results suggest a potential linkage of genital HVs and impaired future reproductive success in females, but because reproductive failure can have many reasons in badgers, the causative link of this negative relationship remains to be investigated.

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Detection of Mustelid Herpesvirus-1 Infected European Badgers (Meles meles) in the British Isles

Cited by 18 publications

References 5 publications

Mustelids

Mustelids

Pathogen burden, co‐infection and major histocompatibility complex variability in the European badger (Meles meles)

Genital Tract Screening Finds Widespread Infection With Mustelid Gammaherpesvirus 1 in the European Badger (Meles Meles)

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