A review of the main bacterial fish diseases in mariculture systems.

In the last decade betanodavirus infections have emerged as major constraints on the culture of marine fish in all parts of the world with the exception of the African continent. The occurrence of these infections appears to be a function of the number of species cultured and the intensity of culture. This has been further complicated by the promiscuous translocation of stock within and between countries. Great strides have been made in defining these agents and producing diagnostic techniques but much more remains to be done. Lack of knowledge of the epidemiology of the diseases caused by nodaviruses, except for vertical transmission of the pathogen in some species, has impeded the development of control measures but, even so, the measures identified to date have not been adequately implemented by producers with the result that catastrophic losses still occur on a regular basis.

Betanodavirus infections of teleost fish: a review

Seafood is a growing part of the economy, but its economic value is dimin- ished by marine diseases. Infectious diseases are common in the ocean, and here we tabulate 67 examples that can reduce commercial species' growth and survivorship or decrease seafood quality. These impacts seem most problem- atic in the stressful and crowded conditions of aquaculture, which increas- ingly dominates seafood production as wild fishery production plateaus. For instance, marine diseases of farmed oysters, shrimp, abalone, and various fishes, particularly Atlantic salmon, cost billions of dollars each year. In comparison, it is often difficult to accurately estimate disease impacts on wild populations, especially those of pelagic and subtidal species. Farmed species often receive infectious diseases from wild species and can, in turn, export infectious agents to wild species. However, the impact of disease ex- port on wild fisheries is controversial because there are few quantitative data demonstrating that wild species near farms suffer more from infectious dis- eases than those in other areas. The movement of exotic infectious agents to new areas continues to be the greatest concern.

Infectious Diseases Affect Marine Fisheries and Aquaculture Economics

Viruses are obligate, intracellular pathogens that must manipulate and exploit host molecular mechanisms to prosper in the hostile cellular environment. Here we review the strategies used by viruses to evade the immunity controlled by 21- to 26-nt small RNAs. Viral suppressors of RNA silencing (VSRs) are encoded by genetically diverse viruses infecting plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates. VSRs target key steps in the small RNA pathways by inhibiting small RNA production, sequestering small RNAs, or preventing short- and long-distance spread of RNA silencing. However, although VSRs are required for infection, explicit data demonstrating a role of silencing suppression in virus infection are available only for a few VSRs. A subset of VSRs bind double-stranded RNA, but a distinct protein fold is revealed for each of the four VSRs examined. We propose that VSR families are evolved independently as a viral adaptation to immunity. Unresolved issues on the role of RNA silencing in virus-host interactions are highlighted.

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Virus counterdefense : Diverse strategies for evading the RNA-silencing immunity

Plant viral movement proteins: agents for cell-to-cell trafficking of viral genomes.

Properties of a new virus belonging to nodaviridae found in larval striped jack (Pseudocaranx dentex) with nervous necrosis.

Six cell clones were derived from the SSN-1 cell line, which is composed of a mixed cell population and persistently infected with a C-type retrovirus (SnRV). These clones were susceptible to 4 piscine nodavirus strains belonging to different genotypes (SJNNV, RGNNV, TPNNV and *BFNNV [striped jack, redspotted grouper, tiger puffer and barfin flounder nervous necrosis viruses]). Three clones, designated A-6, E-9, and E-11, were highly permissive to nodavirus infection and production. The virus-induced cytopathic effects appeared as cytoplasmic vacuoles and intensive disintegration at 3 to 5 d post-incubation. These observations were highly reproducible and formed the basis for a successful virus titration system. Quantitative analysis using the cloned E-11 cell line clearly revealed differences in the optimal growth temperatures among the 4 genotypic variants: 25 to 30 degrees C for strain SGWak97 (RGNNV), 20 to 25 degrees C for strain SJNag93 (SJNNV), 20 degrees C for strain TPKag93 (TPNNV), and 15 to 20 degrees C for strain JFIwa98 (BFNNV). Electron microscopy demonstrated SnRV retrovirus particles only in A-6 and E-9 cells, but PCR amplification for the pol gene and LTR region of the proviral DNA indicated the presence of the retrovirus in the other clones, including E-11. The cell clones obtained in the present study will be more useful for qualitative and quantitative analyses of piscine nodaviruses than the SSN-1 cell line.

/pdf/cloning-of-the-fish-cell-line-ssn-1-for-piscine-nodaviruses-l1u76ydxit.pdf

Cloning of the fish cell line SSN-1 for piscine nodaviruses.

Vaccination trials with Penaeus japonicus to induce resistance to white spot syndrome virus

Striped jack nervous necrosis virus (SJNNV), which infects fish, is the type species of the genus Betanodavirus. This virus has a bipartite genome of positive-strand RNAs, designated RNAs 1 and 2. A small RNA (ca. 0.4 kb) has been detected from SJNNV-infected cells, which was newly synthesized and corresponded to the 3'-terminal region of RNA1. Rapid amplification of cDNA ends analysis showed that the 5' end of this small RNA (designated RNA3) initiated at nt 2730 of the corresponding RNA1 sequence and contained a 5' cap structure. Substitution of the first nucleotide of the subgenomic RNA sequence within RNA1 selectively inhibited production of the positive-strand RNA3 but not of the negative-strand RNA3, which suggests that RNA3 may be synthesized via a premature termination model. The single RNA3-encoded protein (designated protein B2) was expressed in Escherichia coli, purified and used to immunize a rabbit to obtain an anti-protein B2 polyclonal antibody. An immunological test showed that the antigen was specifically detected in the central nervous system and retina of infected striped jack larvae (Pseudocaranx dentex), and in the cytoplasm of infected cultured E-11 cells. These results indicate that SJNNV produces subgenomic RNA3 from RNA1 and synthesizes protein B2 during virus multiplication, as reported for alphanodaviruses. In addition, an Agrobacterium co-infiltration assay established in transgenic plants that express green fluorescent protein showed that SJNNV protein B2 has a potent RNA silencing-suppression activity, as discovered for the protein B2 of insect-infecting alphanodaviruses.

Characterization of Striped jack nervous necrosis virus subgenomic RNA3 and biological activities of its encoded protein B2.

The present paper describes the detection of striped jack nervous necrosis virus (SJNNV), the causative agent of viral nervous necrosis, in eggs, larvae, and brood stocks of hatchery-reared and captured striped jack Pseudocaranx dentex by indirect ELISA. An appropriate condition for the ELISA was determined using purified SJNNV and the detection limit of virus antigens was approximately 5 ng/well. All samples of larvae supposed to be affected with the disease were proved positive for the presence of SJNNV antigens in this ELISA test. The viral antigens were also detected in some samples of fertilized eggs and ovaries of spawners but not in the testis or brain. Thus, it was indicated that spawners were an inoculum source of this viral disease in striped jack.

https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jsfp1966/27/4/27_4_191/_pdf

Misao Arimoto

Papers

Properties of a new virus belonging to nodaviridae found in larval striped jack (Pseudocaranx dentex) with nervous necrosis.

Cloning of the fish cell line SSN-1 for piscine nodaviruses.

Vaccination trials with Penaeus japonicus to induce resistance to white spot syndrome virus

Characterization of Striped jack nervous necrosis virus subgenomic RNA3 and biological activities of its encoded protein B2.

Detection of Striped Jack Nervous Necrosis Virus (SJNNV) by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA)