title: Distribution, prevalence, and genetic analysis of Panulirus argus virus 1 (PaV1) from the Caribbean Sea.
abstract: The pathogenic virus Panulirus argus virus 1 (PaV1) was first discovered in Caribbean spiny lobsters Panulirus argus from the Florida Keys (USA) in 1999 and has since been reported in Belize, Mexico, and Cuba; its distribution in the wider Caribbean is unknown. We collected tissue samples from adult spiny lobsters from 30 locations in 14 countries bordering the Caribbean Sea and used molecular diagnostics to assay for the presence of PaV1. PaV1 occurred primarily in the northern areas of the Caribbean, where its prevalence was highest. The virus was not found in lobsters from the southeastern Caribbean, and its prevalence was lowest in the southwestern Caribbean. DNA sequence analysis was performed on a fragment of the viral DNA to examine the genetic diversity of PaV1 on a Caribbean-wide scale. Sequence variation in the viral DNA fragment was high, with 61 unique alleles identified from 9 areas. The sharing of viral alleles in lobsters from distant locations supports the hypothesis of a strong genetic connectivity among lobsters within the Caribbean, and further supports the hypothesis that postlarvae infected with PaV1 may serve to disperse the virus over long distances.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Environmental and Aquatic Animal Health, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary, Greate Road, Gloucester Point, Virginia 23062, USA. jamoss@vims.edu
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Moss
authors.forename: Donald
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Behringer
authors.forename: Jeffrey D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Shields
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baeza
authors.forename: Alfonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aguilar-Perera
authors.forename: Phillippe G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Bush
authors.forename: Clement
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dromer
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Herrera-Moreno
authors.forename: Lester
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gittens
authors.forename: Thomas R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Matthews
authors.forename: Michael R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: McCord
authors.forename: Michelle T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Schärer
authors.forename: Lionel
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Reynal
authors.forename: Nathanial
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Truelove
authors.forename: Mark J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Butler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017691:Caribbean Region; D004267:DNA Viruses / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D033521:Palinuridae / Q000821:virology*