Abstract
During 2011–2013, dolphin morbillivirus was molecularly identified in 4 stranded fin whales from the Mediterranean Sea. Nucleoprotein, phosphoprotein, and hemagglutinin gene sequences of the identified strain were highly homologous with those of a morbillivirus that caused a 2006–2007 epidemic in the Mediterranean. Dolphin morbillivirus represents a serious threat for fin whales.
Highlights
During 2011–2013, dolphin morbillivirus was molecularly identified in 4 stranded fin whales from the Mediterranean Sea
Because morbillivirus infections have been detected during these postmortem investigations, we conducted a study to determine the effect of this natural threat on the Mediterranean fin whale population
In October 2013, a newborn male fin whale was found stranded alive on Elba Island (Tuscany); the whale died after a few hours, and postmortem investigations conducted within 24 hours of death yielded biomolecular and IHC evidence of dolphin morbillivirus (DMV) infection
Summary
Lasergene software package (http://www.dnastar.com/ t-dnastar-lasergene.aspx) were used to edit, assemble, and translate sequences. Viral hemagglutinin (H) protein mediates DMV entry into host cells by binding with the whale’s signaling lymphocyte activation molecule (SLAM)/ CD150; we investigated variations in the H gene of the newborn whale by using the previously described cloning procedures for cerebral cDNA with 3 new overlapping primers pairs (Table 2; Figure 2). This technique enabled identification of a 1,699-bp DNA fragment encompassing a partial H gene sequence; 116 bp at the beginning of the gene were missing. This variation was previously reported in other related morbilliviruses [13] and does not control any change in the tertiary structure of H antigen, as determined by using the SWISS-MODEL (http://swissmodel. expasy.org/) modeling program
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