Distribution and phylogeny of erythrocytic necrosis virus (ENV) in salmon suggests marine origin
Date
2019
Authors
Pagowski, Veronica A.
Mordecai, Gideon J.
Miller, Kristina M.
Schulze, Angela D.
Kaukinen, Karia H.
Ming, Tobi J.
Li, Shaorong
Teffer, Amy K.
Tabta, Amy
Suttle, Curtis A.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Viruses
Abstract
Viral erythrocytic necrosis (VEN) affects over 20 species of marine and anadromous fishes
in the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans. However, the distribution and strain variation of
its viral causative agent, erythrocytic necrosis virus (ENV), has not been well characterized within
Pacific salmon. Here, metatranscriptomic sequencing of Chinook salmon revealed that ENV infecting
salmon was closely related to ENV from Pacific herring, with inferred amino-acid sequences from
Chinook salmon being 99% identical to those reported for herring. Sequence analysis also revealed 89
protein-encoding sequences attributed to ENV, greatly expanding the amount of genetic information
available for this virus. High-throughput PCR of over 19,000 fish showed that ENV is widely
distributed in the NE Pacific Ocean and was detected in 12 of 16 tested species, including in 27%
of herring, 38% of anchovy, 17% of pollock, and 13% of sand lance. Despite frequent detection in
marine fish, ENV prevalence was significantly lower in fish from freshwater (0.03%), as assessed with
a generalized linear mixed effects model (p = 5.5 x 10^-8). Thus, marine fish are likely a reservoir for
the virus. High genetic similarity between ENV obtained from salmon and herring also suggests that
transmission between these hosts is likely.
Description
Keywords
erythrocytic necrosis virus (ENV), viral erythrocytic necrosis (VEN), Pacific salmon, Pacific herring, British Columbia
Citation
Pagowski, V. A., Mordecai, G. J., Miller, K. M., Schulze, A. D., Kaukinen, K. H., Ming, T. J., . . . Suttle, C. A. (2019). “Distribution and phylogeny of erythrocytic necrosis virus (ENV) in salmon suggests marine origin.” Viruses, 11(4), 358. https://doi.org/10.3390/v11040358