Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 8, 2025

A Rapid Strategy for the Isolation of New Faustoviruses from Environmental Samples Using Vermamoeba vermiformis
Published on: June 4, 2016
Highly divergent herpesviruses in threatened river dolphins from Brazil
Helena Exposto Novoselecki1, José Luiz Catão-Dias1, Ana Carolina Ewbank1
1Laboratory of Wildlife Comparative Pathology, Department of Pathology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, 05508-270, Brazil.
Abstract:
River dolphins are a highly threatened polyphyletic group comprised of four odontocete families: Iniidae, Pontoporiidae, Lipotidae, and Platanistidae, the first two endemic to South America. To address the knowledge gap regarding infectious agents in this cetacean group, we surveyed the presence of herpesviruses by PCR in skin and/or blood samples of live-captured Amazon (Inia geoffrensis, n = 25) and Bolivian (Inia boliviensis, n = 22) river dolphins of the Amazon basin and in selected tissue samples of franciscanas (Pontoporia blainvillei, n = 27) stranded or bycaught in southeastern Brazil. Additionally, available franciscana tissue samples were examined by histopathology. Herpesvirus DNA was amplified in 13 Bolivian river dolphins (59.1%, 95% CI 38.5-79.6%) and 14 franciscanas (51.9%, 95% CI 33.0-70.7%). All Amazon river dolphins were herpesvirus-negative. Two different herpesviruses were found in Bolivian river dolphins: a previously known gammaherpesvirus detected in blood and/or skin samples of all positive individuals and a novel alphaherpesvirus in the skin of one animal. A new gammaherpesvirus was found in several franciscana samples-the first herpesvirus recorded in Pontoporiidae. Intranuclear inclusion bodies consistent with herpesvirus were observed in the lymph node of one franciscana. The high divergence among the obtained herpesviruses and those previously described can be explained by viral-host coevolution, and by the fact that these populations are fairly isolated.
More Related Videos
09:50Single Cell Micro-aspiration as an Alternative Strategy to Fluorescence-activated Cell Sorting for Giant Virus Mixture Separation
Published on: October 27, 2019
10:26Author Spotlight: A Cost-Effective Genomic Workflow for Advancing Rabies Control in Resource-Limited Settings
Published on: August 18, 2023
Related Concept Videos
Convergent Evolution
Viral Recombination
Diversity of Protists IV
Diversity of Protists II
Diversity of Protists III
Threats to Biodiversity