Version 1
: Received: 14 March 2019 / Approved: 15 March 2019 / Online: 15 March 2019 (11:58:03 CET)
How to cite:
Bienentreu, J.; Grayfer, L.; Schock, D.M.; Guerreiro, M.; DeWitt-Orr, S.J.; Robert, J.; Brunetti, C.R.; Lesbarreres, D. Sublethal Effects of Wild-Type and a vIF-2α-Knockout Frog virus 3 on Post-Metamorphic Wood Frogs (Rana sylvatica). Preprints2019, 2019030163
Bienentreu, J.; Grayfer, L.; Schock, D.M.; Guerreiro, M.; DeWitt-Orr, S.J.; Robert, J.; Brunetti, C.R.; Lesbarreres, D. Sublethal Effects of Wild-Type and a vIF-2α-Knockout Frog virus 3 on Post-Metamorphic Wood Frogs (Rana sylvatica). Preprints 2019, 2019030163
Cite as:
Bienentreu, J.; Grayfer, L.; Schock, D.M.; Guerreiro, M.; DeWitt-Orr, S.J.; Robert, J.; Brunetti, C.R.; Lesbarreres, D. Sublethal Effects of Wild-Type and a vIF-2α-Knockout Frog virus 3 on Post-Metamorphic Wood Frogs (Rana sylvatica). Preprints2019, 2019030163
Bienentreu, J.; Grayfer, L.; Schock, D.M.; Guerreiro, M.; DeWitt-Orr, S.J.; Robert, J.; Brunetti, C.R.; Lesbarreres, D. Sublethal Effects of Wild-Type and a vIF-2α-Knockout Frog virus 3 on Post-Metamorphic Wood Frogs (Rana sylvatica). Preprints 2019, 2019030163
Abstract
Ranaviruses have been associated with rising numbers of mass die-offs in amphibian populations globally. With life-stages occupying different environments and presenting distinct physiologies, amphibian of different ages are likely to play an important role in pathogen persistence. To assess the potential role of post-metamorphic amphibians as a Ranavirus reservoir, we performed a bath-exposure study on wood frogs using environmentally relevant doses (~103 and ~104 PFU/mL) of wild-type (WT) and knockout Frog virus 3 (FV3), deficient for the vIF-2α immune-evasion gene, the effects of which have never been addressed in post-metamorphic anurans. We observed 42% infection prevalence and low mortality (10%) across the virus challenges, with half of the mortalities attributable to ranavirosis. Prevalence and viral loads followed a dose-dependent pattern. Notably, when exposed to the vIF-2α knockout (DvIF-2α) FV3, individuals exhibited significantly decreased growth and increased lethargy in comparison to WT FV3 treatments. Although 85% of individuals in the virus treatments exhibited stereotypic signs of ranavirosis throughout the experiment, at termination (40 days post exposure) most individuals were clear of signs of infection. Overall, this study provides evidence that even a single short time exposure to environmentally relevant doses of Ranavirus may cause sublethal infections in post-metamorphic amphibians, thus indicating their possible role as a reservoir for this pathogen.
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.