A New Lineage of Perch Rhabdovirus Associated with Mortalities of Farmed Perch

Laurane Pallandre (1) , Armand Lautraite (2) , Claudette Feuvrier (3) , Françoise Pozet (3) , Laurent Dacheux (4) , Laurent Bigarré (1)

1 Laboratoire de Ploufragan-Plouzané-Niort [ANSES]
2 Sans affiliation
3 LDA39 - Laboratoire Départemental d’Analyses du Jura
4 Lyssavirus, épidémiologie et neuropathologie - Lyssavirus Epidemiology and Neuropathology

A perhabdovirus was isolated from a mortality episode affecting a fish farm in 2019 in Western Europe. This virus was produced in cell culture and was readily detected by a species-specific real-time PCR assay. The near-complete sequence of the virus obtained showed some relatedness with viruses of the species Perhabdovirus perca. However, it was distinct enough from these viruses to form a separate genetic lineage. Multiple substitutions along the genome caused non-detection using a range of conventional PCRs previously shown to target four known genogroups of perhabdoviruses. However, various generic PCRs efficiently detected the isolated virus. The origin of this virus remains to be elucidated. It may have been introduced into the farm via wild genitors. This finding provides new evidence of the high genetic diversity of percid perhabdoviruses and the potential of new genotypes to emerge as threats for fish farming. Efforts to improve the existing diagnostic methods and control this large group of viruses are still needed.

Keywords: Rhabdoviridae; Perhabdovirus; fish; percid; outbreak

Domains: Life Sciences [q-bio]; Animal biology; Veterinary medicine and animal Health

Laurane Pallandre, Armand Lautraite, Claudette Feuvrier, Françoise Pozet, Laurent Dacheux, et al.. A New Lineage of Perch Rhabdovirus Associated with Mortalities of Farmed Perch. Pathogens, 2021, 10 (10), pp.1256. ⟨10.3390/pathogens10101256⟩. ⟨anses-03471355⟩