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Phage Phenomics: Physiological Approaches to Characterize Novel Viral Proteins
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Phage Phenomics: Physiological Approaches to Characterize Novel Viral Proteins

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Phylogenetic analysis of marine mammal herpesviruses

Heather T D Maness1, Hendrik H Nollens, Eric D Jensen

  • 1Aquatic Animal Health Program and Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, PO Box 100136, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA. htdaniel@ufl.edu

Veterinary Microbiology
|November 9, 2010
PubMed

Insights

This study identified novel herpesviruses in marine mammals like seals and dolphins. Phylogenetic analysis revealed their evolutionary relationships within the Alphaherpesvirinae and Gammaherpesvirinae subfamilies.

Area of Science:

  • Virology
  • Marine Mammal Health
  • Phylogenetics

Background:

  • Herpesviruses are prevalent in marine mammals, but their diversity and evolutionary history remain incompletely understood.
  • Previous studies have identified some marine mammal herpesviruses, necessitating further research into novel viral strains and their phylogenetic placement.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify and characterize novel herpesviral DNA-dependent DNA polymerase (Dpol) sequences from various marine mammal species.
  • To determine the phylogenetic relationships of these novel marine mammal herpesviruses with known herpesviruses from other animal hosts.

Main Methods:

  • Nested consensus polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was employed to amplify Dpol gene sequences from clinical samples of harbor seals, bottlenose dolphins, orcas, and California sea lions.
  • Bayesian and Maximum Likelihood phylogenetic analyses were conducted using the generated novel sequences and existing herpesvirus sequences.

Main Results:

  • Five novel herpesviral Dpol sequences were successfully generated from marine mammal samples.
  • Phylogenetic analyses placed the novel harbor seal herpesvirus within the Macavirus genus (Gammaherpesvirinae).
  • Novel dolphin and orca herpesviruses clustered with other delphinid alphaherpesviruses, forming distinct clades.
  • The California sea lion herpesvirus clustered with Phocid herpesvirus 2 (PhHV-2), while PhHV-1 grouped with varicelloviruses and PhHV-2 with Percavirus (Gammaherpesvirinae).
  • All analyzed cetacean gammaherpesviruses formed a monophyletic group, unassigned to an established genus.

Conclusions:

  • This research expands the known diversity of marine mammal herpesviruses.
  • The findings provide insights into the evolutionary pathways and host associations of herpesviruses in marine mammals.
  • Further research is needed to fully classify and understand the pathogenic potential of newly identified marine mammal herpesviruses.

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