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Abstract
BackgroundRespiratory infections are important causes of morbidity and mortality in reptiles; however, the causative agents are only infrequently identified.FindingsPneumonia, 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.ConclusionsThis 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.
Highlights
Respiratory infections are important causes of morbidity and mortality in reptiles; the causative agents are only infrequently identified
Nidovirales is a large order of positive sense, singlestranded RNA viruses that consists of the many genera and species in the families Coronaviridae, Arteriviridae, Roniviridae and Mesoniviridae
The genomes of nidoviruses vary in length, ranging from 13 to 32 kilobases, the organization of the genomes are similar across the entire order [1,2,3,4]
Summary
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. Of all Torovirinae-like reads generated a 3,408 nt contig with 33% amino acid homology to the replicase polyprotein 1ab of Fathead minnow virus All snakes with epithelial hyperplasia in the trachea, lung and esophagus and mononuclear inflammatory infiltrates had viral signal by PCR and ISH. In concert, these data suggest a role for this nidovirus in the pathogenesis of respiratory disease. Unequivocal implication will require experimental infection studies The identification of this novel nidovirus expands our understanding of nidoviral diversity and provides insight into the pathogenesis of respiratory disease in snakes.
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