Molecular characterization and pathogenicity of a grouper iridovirus (GIV) isolated from yellow grouper, Epinephelus awoara (Temminck & Schlegel) |
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| Authors: | S Murali M-F Wu I-C Guo S-C Chen H-W Yang & C-Y Chang |
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| Institution: | Institute of Zoology, Academia Sinica, Nankang, Taipei, Taiwan,;Department of Veterinary Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan,;Department of Anatomy, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan |
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| Abstract: | Molecular characterization was carried out on an iridovirus isolated from yellow grouper, Epinephelus awoara . The major capsid protein (MCP) gene was located, sequenced and compared with homologous genes from other iridoviruses. The nucleotide sequence is 1392 bases long and contains a single open reading frame beginning at an ATG codon from the 5' end and terminating at a TAA codon at the 3' end. The open reading frame encodes a protein of 463 amino acids with a predicted molecular weight of 50 272 Da. Pairwise amino acid alignments detected a high degree of sequence identity between grouper iridovirus (GIV) MCP and the homologous genes of other iridoviruses. The MCP gene of GIV was most similar to the MCP gene from frog virus 3 (FV3) with 70% nucleotide and 73% amino acid sequence identity. The predicted molecular weight of the protein of this gene is comparable with the apparent weight obtained by SDS–PAGE. Pathogenicity of the GIV was investigated in yellow grouper by intraperitoneal injection of 107 and 104 TCID50 virus. Cumulative mortalities reached 100% within 11 and 25 days post-infection, respectively, while no grouper died in the control group. The molecular studies demonstrated that GIV is a member of the genus Ranavirus . |
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| Keywords: | characterization iridovirus major capsid protein pathogenicity yellow grouper |
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