Journal
VIROLOGY JOURNAL
Volume 11, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
BMC
DOI: 10.1186/1743-422X-11-144
Keywords
Nidovirales; Pneumonia; Reptile; Snake
Categories
Funding
- American-Italian Cancer Foundation Post-Doctoral research Fellowship
- National Institutes of Health [U19 AI109761]
- USAID PREDICT
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Background: Respiratory infections are important causes of morbidity and mortality in reptiles; however, the causative agents are only infrequently identified. Findings: Pneumonia, tracheitis and esophagitis were reported in a collection of ball pythons (Python regius). Eight of 12 snakes had evidence of bacterial pneumonia. High-throughput sequencing of total extracted nucleic acids from lung, esophagus and spleen revealed a novel nidovirus. PCR indicated the presence of viral RNA in lung, trachea, esophagus, liver, and spleen. In situ hybridization confirmed the presence of intracellular, intracytoplasmic viral nucleic acids in the lungs of infected snakes. Phylogenetic analysis based on a 1,136 amino acid segment of the polyprotein suggests that this virus may represent a new species in the subfamily Torovirinae. Conclusions: This report of a novel nidovirus in ball pythons may provide insight into the pathogenesis of respiratory disease in this species and enhances our knowledge of the diversity of nidoviruses.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available