Polyomavirus surveillance in cetaceans of Brazil: first detection of polyomavirus in Guiana dolphins ( <i>Sotalia guianensis</i> )
Polyomaviruses (PyVs) are small double-stranded DNA viruses able to infect species across all vertebrate taxa. In cetaceans, PyVs have been reported only in short-beaked common dolphin (<i>Delphinus delphis</i>), common bottlenose dolphin (<i>Tursiops truncatus</i>) and killer whale (<i>Orcinus orca</i>). Herein, we surveyed PyV in 119 cetaceans (29 mysticetes and 90 odontocetes) stranded along the Brazilian coast, from 2002 to 2022, comprising 18 species. DNA extracted from the lungs was tested using a nested PCR targeting the major capsid protein gene of PyV. Polyomavirus was detected in lung samples of 1.7% (2/119) cetaceans: two juvenile female Guiana dolphins (<i>Sotalia guianensis</i>) stranded in Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro state) and Guriri (Espírito Santo state), in 2018. Both retrieved sequences were identical and presented 93.3% amino acid identity with <i>Zetapolyomavirus delphini</i>, suggesting a novel species. On histopathology, one of the PyV-positive individuals presented basophilic intranuclear inclusion bodies morphologically consistent with polyomavirus in the lungs. Other available tissues from both cases were PyV-PCR-negative; however, both individuals tested positive for Guiana dolphin morbillivirus. To our knowledge, this is the first report of PyV infection in cetaceans of the Southern Hemisphere and the first description of a co-infection with morbillivirus.
Authors
- Vítor Luz Carvalho (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6765-0559)
- Carlos Sacristán (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6111-6301)
- Roberta Ramblas Zamana (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4422-321X)
- Josué Díaz‐Delgado (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1216-5446)
- José Luiz Catão‐Dias (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2999-3395)
- Ana Carolina Ewbank (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5617-9287)
- Kátia R. Groch (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2359-6391)
- Vanessa L. Ribeiro
- Carolina Pacheco Bertozzi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7175-1755)
- Véronique Bianco (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-0554-2663)
- Samira Costa‐Silva (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0294-1870)
- Arícia Duarte-Benvenuto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2172-0838)
- Elitieri Santos-Neto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3539-1104)
- Caroline F. Pessi
- Irene Sacristán (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4169-4884)
- Adriana Castaldo Colosio
- Hernani da Cunha Gomes Ramos
- Cíntia Maria Favero
Institutions
- Universidade de São Paulo (BR)
- University of Surrey (GB)
- Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz (BR)
- Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (BR)
- Instituto Biopesca (BR)
- Fundação Instituto de Pesca do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (BR)
- Fundação de Estudos e Pesquisas Aquáticas (BR)
- Instituto de Pesquisas Cananéia (BR)
- Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal
- Texas A&M University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Veterinary Quarterly
- Published
- 2024-10-20
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1080/01652176.2024.2413185
- Primary Topic
- Polyomavirus and related diseases
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades
- Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
- Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
- Ministry of Environment
- Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
- Petrobras
- Agencia Estatal de Investigación