Identification, molecular and phylogenetic analysis of poxvirus in skin lesions of southern right whale.
Poxvirus skin disease has been reported in several species of cetaceans, principally in odontocetes, and a single report in mysticetes. Southern right whales Eubalaena australis in Peninsula Valdes, Argentina, show a variety of skin lesions of unknown etiology, and the number of these lesions has increased in recent years. Samples from dead whales were taken in order to establish the etiology of these lesions. One calf and one adult presented ring-type lesions, characterized by a circumscribed and slightly raised area of skin. Lesions were histologically characterized by the presence of microvesicles and vacuolated cells in the stratum spinosum, along with hyperplasia of the stratum corneum and eosinophilic inclusion bodies in the cytoplasm of the epithelial cells. Transmission electron microscopy showed aggregations of virions with typical poxvirus morphology. PCR of cetacean poxvirus (CPV) DNA polymerase, DNA topoisomerase I and parapoxvirus DNA polymerase gene fragments was done, and confirmed the presence of poxvirus in one sample. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the detected poxvirus belongs to the CPV-2 group. This is the first confirmed report of poxvirus in southern right whales in Argentina.
Laboratorio de Ecofisiología Aplicada al Manejo y Conservación, Centro Nacional Patagónico, CONICET, 9120 Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina.
Carla
C
Fiorito
Carlos
C
Palacios
Marcelo
M
Golemba
Ana
A
Bratanich
Maria Belen
MB
Argüelles
Ana
A
Fazio
Marcelo
M
Bertellotti
Daniel
D
Lombardo
D000818:Animals; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D010802:Phylogeny; D011212:Poxviridae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D011213:Poxviridae Infections / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D014907:Whales
D004279:DNA, Viral