Alpha- and gammaherpesviruses in stranded striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) from Spain: first molecular detection of gammaherpesvirus infection in central nervous system of odontocetes

Vargas Castro, Ignacio; Crespo-Picazo, José Luis; Rivera Arroyo, Belén; Sánchez García, Rocío; Marco-Cabedo, Vicente; Jiménez Martínez, María De Los Ángeles; Fayos, Manena; Serdio, Ángel; García-Párraga, Daniel; Sánchez-Vizcaíno Rodríguez, José Manuel

Alpha- and gammaherpesviruses in stranded striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) from Spain: first molecular detection of gammaherpesvirus infection in central nervous system of odontocetes

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Official URL

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-020-02511-3

Publication date

2020

Authors

Vargas Castro, Ignacio

Crespo-Picazo, José Luis

Rivera Arroyo, Belén

Sánchez García, Rocío

Marco-Cabedo, Vicente

Jiménez Martínez, María De Los Ángeles

Fayos, Manena

Serdio, Ángel

García-Párraga, Daniel

Sánchez-Vizcaíno Rodríguez, José Manuel

Publisher

Springer Nature

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URI

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/95697

Citation

Vargas-Castro, I., Crespo-Picazo, J. L., Rivera-Arroyo, B., Sánchez, R., Marco-Cabedo, V., Jiménez-Martínez, M. Á., Fayos, M., Serdio, Á., García-Párraga, D., & Sánchez-Vizcaíno, J. M. (2020). Alpha- and gammaherpesviruses in stranded striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) from Spain: first molecular detection of gammaherpesvirus infection in central nervous system of odontocetes. BMC veterinary research, 16(1), 288. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-020-02511-3

Abstract

Background: Herpesvirus infections in cetaceans have always been attributed to the Alphaherpesvirinae and Gammaherpesvirinae subfamilies. To date, gammaherpesviruses have not been reported in the central nervous system of odontocetes. Case presentation: A mass stranding of 14 striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) occurred in Cantabria (Spain) on 18th May 2019. Tissue samples were collected and tested for herpesvirus using nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and for cetacean morbillivirus using reverse transcription-PCR. Cetacean morbillivirus was not detected in any of the animals, while gammaherpesvirus was detected in nine male and one female dolphins. Three of these males were coinfected by alphaherpesviruses. Alphaherpesvirus sequences were detected in the cerebrum, spinal cord and tracheobronchial lymph node, while gammaherpesvirus sequences were detected in the cerebrum, cerebellum, spinal cord, pharyngeal tonsils, mesenteric lymph node, tracheobronchial lymph node, lung, skin and penile mucosa. Macroscopic and histopathological post-mortem examinations did not unveil the potential cause of the mass stranding event or any evidence of severe infectious disease in the dolphins. The only observed lesions that may be associated with herpesvirus were three cases of balanitis and one penile papilloma. Conclusions: To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of gammaherpesvirus infection in the central nervous system of odontocete cetaceans. This raises new questions for future studies about how gammaherpesviruses reach the central nervous system and how infection manifests clinically.

Description

Authors' contributions IVC, VMC, and MF performed the necropsies and collected samples. IVC, BRA, and RS performed molecular analysis. MAJM performed the histopathology analysis. IVC performed the phylogenetic analysis. AS, DGP, and JMSV coordinated and reviewed data collection and analysis. IVC drafted the manuscript, which AS, JLCP, BRA, VMC, MAJM, MF, DGP, and JMSV revised. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Availability of data and materials DNA sequences have been deposited in GenBank (accession numbers: MN698989-MN699009 and MT770740-MT770752).