Physiological effects of capture and short-term captivity in an invasive snake species, the Burmese python (Python bivittatus) in Florida

Claunch, Natalie M.; Bartoszek, Ian A.; Tillis, Steve; Stacy, Nicole I.; Ossiboff, Robert J.; Oakey, Samantha J.; Schoenle, Laura A.; Wellehan, James X.; Romagosa, Christina M.

doi:10.1016/j.cbpa.2022.111162

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 87 publications

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“…Moreover, other studies of serpentoviruses in captive snakes have documented a high asymptomatic viral prevalence with minimal clinical signs of infection [20,23]. In further support of this, a subset of python rtPCR results from this study included in the analysis of Claunch et al, 2022 indicated no association between metrics of python stress and rtPCR result [39].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Divergent Serpentoviruses in Free-Ranging Invasive Pythons and Native Colubrids in Southern Florida, United States

Tillis

Josimovich

Miller

et al. 2022

Viruses

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Burmese python (Python bivittatus) is an invasive snake that has significantly affected ecosystems in southern Florida, United States. Aside from direct predation and competition, invasive species can also introduce nonnative pathogens that can adversely affect native species. The subfamily Serpentovirinae (order Nidovirales) is composed of positive-sense RNA viruses primarily found in reptiles. Some serpentoviruses, such as shingleback nidovirus, are associated with mortalities in wild populations, while others, including ball python nidovirus and green tree python nidovirus can be a major cause of disease and mortality in captive animals. To determine if serpentoviruses were present in invasive Burmese pythons in southern Florida, oral swabs were collected from both free-ranging and long-term captive snakes. Swabs were screened for the presence of serpentovirus by reverse transcription PCR and sequenced. A total serpentovirus prevalence of 27.8% was detected in 318 python samples. Of the initial swabs from 172 free-ranging pythons, 42 (24.4%) were positive for multiple divergent viral sequences comprising four clades across the sampling range. Both sex and snout-vent length were statistically significant factors in virus prevalence, with larger male snakes having the highest prevalence. Sampling location was statistically significant in circulating virus sequence. Mild clinical signs and lesions consistent with serpentovirus infection were observed in a subset of sampled pythons. Testing of native snakes (n = 219, 18 species) in part of the python range found no evidence of python virus spillover; however, five individual native snakes (2.3%) representing three species were PCR positive for unique, divergent serpentoviruses. Calculated pairwise uncorrected distance analysis indicated the newly discovered virus sequences likely represent three novel genera in the subfamily Serpentovirinae. This study is the first to characterize serpentovirus in wild free-ranging pythons or in any free-ranging North America reptile. Though the risk these viruses pose to the invasive and native species is unknown, the potential for spillover to native herpetofauna warrants further investigation.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Divergent Serpentoviruses in Free-Ranging Invasive Pythons and Native Colubrids in Southern Florida, United States

Tillis

Josimovich

Miller

et al. 2022

Viruses

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“…In the United States, a 2019 cross-sectional sampling (Hoon-Hanks et al ., 2019) of 639 captive snakes identified serpentoviruses in 26% of the animals tested, most commonly in pythons (nearly 40%) followed by boas (10.1%). In the sole study assessing serpentovirus infection rates in free-ranging snakes, overall viral prevalence in invasive Burmese pythons in Florida was 24.4%, with some subpopulations having infection rates as high as 50% (Claunch et al ., 2022; Tillis et al ., 2022). Although additional research is needed in other snake families, to date serpentoviruses have not been detected in lamprophiids or elapids.…”

Section: Host Range and Infection Prevalencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Florida Burmese pythons tested in the fall and winter were also more likely to test positive for serpentovirus (Claunch et al ., 2022; Tillis et al ., 2022). Because reptiles are ectothermic, the cooler winter months can apply stressors that have an immunosuppressive effect (Tillis et al ., 2022).…”

Section: Risk Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Quarantine can also provide a new reptile acquisition the opportunity to acclimate to different husbandry and allow for gradual reduction of the stressors related to packaging, shipping, and/or acclimation (Rivera, 2019). Stress can have an immunosuppressive effect on reptiles generally and has been documented specifically in pythons (Claunch et al ., 2022). Quarantine, complete with separate caretakers, equipment, food, and bedding, has been shown to effectively prevent infection rates from increasing in a captive snake collection (Hoon-Hanks et al ., 2019).…”

Section: Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ophidian Serpentoviruses: A Review and Perspective

Boon

Iredale

Tillis

et al. 2023

Journal of Herpetological Medicine and Surgery

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Ophidian serpentoviruses, initially referred to as nidoviruses, were first documented in captive pythons nearly ten years ago. Since then, much has been learned about these important pathogens, now classified in subfamily Serpentovirinae of family Tobaniviridae and representing an important emerging pathogen that threatens captive snakes. Serpentoviral infections are best characterized in pythons (family Pythonidae), but have also been documented in boas (family Boidae) and colubrids (family Colubridae), as well as shingleback skinks (Tiliqua rugosa), veiled chameleons (Chamaeleo calyptratus), and the Bellinger River snapping turtle (Myuchelys georgesi). Clinical signs include increased oral mucous secretion, oral mucosal reddening, dyspnea, anorexia, and weight loss. Subclinical infections can also occur, and multiple studies report a lack of correlation between clinical signs and presence of serpentoviral nucleic acids in snakes. Lesions associated with serpentoviral infections predominantly occur in the upper respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts but can also extend to the lungs. Microscopically, these lesions may consist of inflammation, epithelial proliferation, and proliferative interstitial pneumonias, which can be complicated by concurrent bacterial bronchopneumonia. The most common method of diagnosis is reverse transcription PCR to detect viral RNA, and oral/choanal swabs are reliable samples for ante- or postmortem diagnosis. Specific treatment protocols have not yet been described, and management is based on supportive care. This manuscript presents a narrative review of all serpentovirus publications to date with perspective from researchers working to further characterize these pathogens, with the goal of serving as a comprehensive clinical and diagnostic overview for clinicians, zoological curatorial staff, wildlife biologists, and hobbyists.

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“…Laboratory and field experiments can reveal different, and sometimes even opposite, results (reviewed in Calisi & Bentley, 2009; Campbell et al, 2009; Fischer & Romero, 2019). Moreover, most studies assess changes only in specific markers of stress, such as heat shock proteins, steroid hormone concentrations or immune cell ratios (Calisi & Bentley, 2009; Claunch et al, 2022; Dickens & Bentley, 2014; Fischer & Romero, 2019; Fokidis et al, 2011; Grutter & Pankhurst, 2000; Imanaga et al, 2014; Landsman, 1993; Martins da Rocha et al, 2004; Schumann et al, 2014; Woodruff et al, 2010; Wright et al, 2007). Thus, the full extent of the impact of being in captivity is not well understood.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Captivity induces a sweeping and sustained genomic response in a starfish

et al. 2023

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Marine animals in the wild are often difficult to access, so they are studied in captivity. However, the implicit assumption that physiological processes of animals in artificial environments are not different from those in the wild has rarely been tested. Here, we investigate the extent to which an animal is impacted by captivity by comparing global gene expression in wild and captive crown‐of‐thorns starfish (COTS). In a preliminary analysis, we compared transcriptomes of three external tissues obtained from multiple wild COTS with a single captive COTS maintained in aquaria for at least 1 week. On average, an astonishingly large 24% of the coding sequences in the genome were differentially expressed. This led us to conduct a replicated experiment to test more comprehensively the impact of captivity on gene expression. Specifically, a comparison of 13 wild with 8 captive COTS coelomocyte transcriptomes revealed significant differences in the expression of 20% of coding sequences. Coelomocyte transcriptomes in captive COTS remain different from those in wild COTS for more than 30 days and show no indication of reverting back to a wild state (i.e. no evidence of acclimation). Genes upregulated in captivity include those involved in oxidative stress and energy metabolism, whereas genes downregulated are involved in cell signalling. These changes in gene expression indicate that being translocated and maintained in captivity has a marked impact on the physiology and health of these echinoderms. This study suggests that caution should be exercised when extrapolating results from captive aquatic invertebrates to their wild counterparts.

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Physiological effects of capture and short-term captivity in an invasive snake species, the Burmese python (Python bivittatus) in Florida

Cited by 7 publications

References 87 publications

Divergent Serpentoviruses in Free-Ranging Invasive Pythons and Native Colubrids in Southern Florida, United States

Divergent Serpentoviruses in Free-Ranging Invasive Pythons and Native Colubrids in Southern Florida, United States

Ophidian Serpentoviruses: A Review and Perspective

Captivity induces a sweeping and sustained genomic response in a starfish

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