Isolation and identification of a viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus (VHSV) isolate from wild largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides in China

Abstract

Fish rhabdoviruses are a family of viruses responsible for large‐scale fish die‐offs worldwide. Here, we reported the isolation and identification of a member of rhabdoviruses from wild largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) in the coastal area of the Pearl River Estuary, China. This virus isolate was identified as viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus (VHSV) by specific RT‐PCR. Furthermore, the virus (VHSVLB2018) was isolated by cell culture using fathead minnow cells and confirmed by RT‐PCR. Electron microscopy showed the presence of bullet‐shaped viral particles in the cytoplasm of infected cells. The complete sequencing of VHSVLB2018 confirmed that it was genome configuration typical of rhabdoviruses. Phylogenetic analysis based on whole‐genome sequences and G gene nucleotides sequences revealed that VHSVLB2018 was assigned to VHSV genogroup Ⅳa. The pathogenicity of VHSVLB2018 was determined in infection experiments using specific pathogen‐free largemouth bass juveniles. VHSVLB2018‐infected fish showed typical clinical signs of VHSV disease, including darkened skin, petechial haemorrhages and pale enlarged livers, with the cumulative mortalities reached 63.3%–93.3% by 7 days post‐infection. VHSVLB2018 was re‐isolated from dead fish and confirmed by RT‐PCR. Together, this is the first report of isolation and identification of a VHSV isolate from wild largemouth bass in China.

α-Lipoic Acid Exerts Its Antiviral Effect against Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia Virus (VHSV) by Promoting Upregulation of Antiviral Genes and Suppressing VHSV-Induced Oxidative Stress

“…VHSV-LB2018 (IVa) was isolated from a wild largemouth bass in the Pearl River and kept in our laboratory (Zhang et al . 2019 ). VHSV was propagated in FHM cells at 28 °C.…”

“…1995 ), and largemouth bass (Zhang et al . 2019 ). The aetiologic agent of VHS is viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV), which is a negative-sense, single-stranded RNA enveloped virus, belonging to the genus Novirhabdoviru s, Rhabdoviridae family (Schütze et al .…”

“…Viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) is one of the most economically fish infectious diseases worldwide and is characterized by high morbidity and mortality. VHS has been reported to cause severe hemorrhages in fish eyes, mouth, fin and live tissues in a wide range of sea or fresh water cultured fishes, including rainbow trout (Hørlyck et al 1984), turbot (Ross et al 1995), and largemouth bass (Zhang et al 2019). The aetiologic agent of VHS is viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV), which is a negative-sense, single-stranded RNA enveloped virus, belonging to the genus Novirhabdovirus, Rhabdoviridae family (Schütze et al 1999).…”

Establishment and characterization of a liver cell line, ALL, derived from yellowfin sea bream, Acanthopagrus latus, and its application to fish virology

“…As an excellent in vitro platform, fish cell lines have been widely applied to the study of virology, immunology, toxicology, preservation of germplasm resources, gene screening and functional analysis (Collet et al., 2018; Liu et al., 2020; Ruiz‐Palacios et al., 2020). For instance, fathead minnow (FHM) cell line was applied to the propagation of multiple fish viruses, including viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus (VHSV), nervous necrosis virus (NNV) and infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (Huang et al., 2018; Lorenzen et al., 1999; Zhang, Li, et al., 2019); Lateolabrax japonicus brain cell line, derived from the brain of sea perch, was used for studying the interaction between NNV and sea perch (Jia et al., 2016; Xiang et al., 2021); and Fundulus heteroclitus brain cell line, pearl gentian grouper gill cell line and Trachinotus ovatus kidney cell line were applied to investigate the toxicity of PS‐100, Cd, Cu and Hg, respectively (Ruiz‐Palacios et al., 2020; Xu et al., 2021; Zhou et al., 2017). Since the establishment of the first fish cell line RTG‐2 in 1962, more than 880 fish cell lines have been established to date (Robin et al., 2020; Wolf & Quimby, 1962).…”

“…With the increase in aquaculture species, the expansion of aquaculture scale and the worldwide flow of aquatic products promoted by economic globalization, several fish viruses have expanded their host range. For example, NNV and VHSV, two highly infectious and harmful pathogens, could infect more than 170 and 140 fish species, respectively (Bandín & Souto, 2020; Zhang, et al., 2019). Largemouth bass virus (LMBV), which was first reported from North America, is spreading in Asia now (Dong et al., 2017; Grizzle et al., 2002; Mao et al., 1999).…”