Isolation, characterization, and sequencing of nodavirus in sturgeon (Acipenser gueldestaedi L.) reared in freshwater facilities

Abstract

The study demonstrates the presence of a nodavirus that affected sturgeon in fresh water, causing disease with neurological signs. The virus was isolated and inoculated onto SSN-1 (striped snakehead, Channa striatus) cell cultures where cytopathic effects (CPE) of the virus included vacuolation of the cells and degeneration of the monolayer. A 255 bp amplicon from nucleic acid preparations of brain tissue from infected sturgeon was detected by PCR (RT-PCR and nested-PCR) and compared with corresponding amino acid sequences of other infected species. The sequences from the sturgeon were similar to those of sea bass, red spotted grouper, and European eel, supporting the hypothesis that the virus originated in marine fish and was horizontally transmitted to freshwater sturgeon.