Freshwater Mussels Show Elevated Viral Richness and Intensity during a Mortality Event

Richard, Jordan; Leis, Eric; Dunn, Christopher D.; Harris, Cleyo; Agbalog, Rose E.; Campbell, Lewis J.; Knowles, Susan; Waller, Diane L.; Putnam, Joel; Goldberg, Tony L.

doi:10.3390/v14122603

Cited by 10 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 34 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Metagenomic next-generation sequencing was performed as previously described [ 6 , 18 , 25 , 26 ]. In brief, samples were centrifuged at 10,000× g (4 °C) for 10 min to remove debris, then supernatants were transferred to a new tube and centrifuged further at 25,000× g (4 °C) for 3 h to pellet viruses.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A virus was considered present if a fish had ≥2 overlapping viral reads of 50 bp or more. Reads that mapped to each virus, or any of the viruses examined (total viral load), were then normalized for sequencing depth and viral sequence length and log-transformed to become log10 viral reads per million per kilobase of target sequence (Log10vRPM/kb) [ 6 , 25 , 26 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Five Species of Wild Freshwater Sport Fish in Wisconsin, USA, Reveal Highly Diverse Viromes

Ford,

Dunn,

Leis

et al. 2024

Pathogens

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Studies of marine fish have revealed distant relatives of viruses important to global fish and animal health, but few such studies exist for freshwater fish. To investigate whether freshwater fish also host such viruses, we characterized the viromes of five wild species of freshwater fish in Wisconsin, USA: bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus), brown trout (Salmo trutta), lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens), northern pike (Esox lucius), and walleye (Sander vitreus). We analyzed 103 blood serum samples collected during a state-wide survey from 2016 to 2020 and used a metagenomic approach for virus detection to identify known and previously uncharacterized virus sequences. We then characterized viruses phylogenetically and quantified prevalence, richness, and relative abundance for each virus. Within these viromes, we identified 19 viruses from 11 viral families: Amnoonviridae, Circoviridae, Coronaviridae, Hepadnaviridae, Peribunyaviridae, Picobirnaviridae, Picornaviridae, Matonaviridae, Narnaviridae, Nudnaviridae, and Spinareoviridae, 17 of which were previously undescribed. Among these viruses was the first fish-associated coronavirus from the Gammacoronavirus genus, which was present in 11/15 (73%) of S. vitreus. These results demonstrate that, similar to marine fish, freshwater fish also harbor diverse relatives of viruses important to the health of fish and other animals, although it currently remains unknown what effect, if any, the viruses we identified may have on fish health.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Five Species of Wild Freshwater Sport Fish in Wisconsin, USA, Reveal Highly Diverse Viromes

Ford,

Dunn,

Leis

et al. 2024

Pathogens

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Recently, enigmatic declines of freshwater mussel populations have been observed where no clear cause can be attributed, and other aquatic fauna appear unaffected [4]. While diseases are often considered to be involved, until recently there have been few microorganisms connected with mussel mortality events [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. Studying bacterial communities associated with freshwater mussels is complex given that mussels feed on bacteria in an everchanging aquatic environment, and diverse bacteria have been associated with healthy mussels [5,6,12,13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Bacteriological Comparison of the Hemolymph from Healthy and Moribund Unionid Mussel Populations in the Upper Midwestern U.S.A. Prompts the Development of Diagnostic Assays to Detect Yokenella regensburgei

et al. 2023

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Recent bacteriological investigations of freshwater mussel mortality events in the southeastern United States have identified a variety of bacteria and differences in bacterial communities between sick and healthy mussels. In particular, Yokenella regensburgei and Aeromonas spp. have been shown to be associated with moribund mussels, although it remains unclear whether these bacteria are causes or consequences of disease. To further understand the role of bacteria in mussel epizootics, we investigated mortality events that occurred in the upper Midwest in the Embarrass River (Wisconsin) and the Huron River (Michigan). For comparison, we also studied mussels from an unaffected population in the St. Croix River (Wisconsin). Diverse bacterial genera were identified from these sites, including Y. regensburgei from moribund mussels in the Embarrass River (Wisconsin). This bacterium has also been consistently isolated during ongoing mortality events in the Clinch River (Virginia). Subsequently, we developed and validated molecular assays for the detection of Yokenella to use in future investigations of mussel mortality events and to identify environmental reservoirs of this bacterium.

show abstract

“…In such cases, infectious disease has long been suspected of playing a role [ 3 , 8 ], though few studies have explored this possibility in detail. Recent work has found associations between freshwater mussel MMEs and viruses [ 9 , 10 ] and bacteria [ 11 , 12 , 13 ] in Eastern US populations, and has also revealed the presence of parasites in declining mussel populations [ 14 , 15 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Viruses of Freshwater Mussels during Mass Mortality Events in Oregon and Washington, USA

Richard

Blevins

Dunn

et al. 2023

Viruses

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Freshwater mussels (Unionida) are globally imperiled, in part due to largely unexplained mass mortality events (MMEs). While recent studies have begun to investigate the possibility that mussel MMEs in the Eastern USA may be caused by infectious diseases, mussels in the Western USA have received relatively little attention in this regard. We conducted a two-year epidemiologic investigation of the role of viruses in ongoing MMEs of the Western pearlshell (Margaritifera falcata) and the Western ridged mussel (Gonidea angulata) in the Chehalis River and Columbia River watersheds in the Western USA. We characterized viromes of mussel hemolymph from 5 locations in 2018 and 2020 using metagenomic methods and identified 557 viruses based on assembled contiguous sequences, most of which are novel. We also characterized the distribution and diversity of a previously identified mussel Gammarhabdovirus related to pathogenic finfish viruses. Overall, we found few consistent associations between viruses and mussel health status. Variation in mussel viromes was most strongly driven by location, with little influence from date, species, or health status, though these variables together only explained ~1/3 of variation in virome composition. Our results demonstrate that Western freshwater mussels host remarkably diverse viromes, but no single virus or combination of viruses appears to be associated with morbidity or mortality during MMEs. Our findings have implications for the conservation of imperiled freshwater mussels, including efforts to enhance natural populations through captive propagation.

show abstract

Freshwater Mussels Show Elevated Viral Richness and Intensity during a Mortality Event

Cited by 10 publications

References 34 publications

Five Species of Wild Freshwater Sport Fish in Wisconsin, USA, Reveal Highly Diverse Viromes

Five Species of Wild Freshwater Sport Fish in Wisconsin, USA, Reveal Highly Diverse Viromes

A Bacteriological Comparison of the Hemolymph from Healthy and Moribund Unionid Mussel Populations in the Upper Midwestern U.S.A. Prompts the Development of Diagnostic Assays to Detect Yokenella regensburgei

Viruses of Freshwater Mussels during Mass Mortality Events in Oregon and Washington, USA

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About