Publications

immune roles of amphibian (xenopus laevis) tadpole granulocytes during frog virus 3 ranavirus infections.	infections by frog virus 3 (fv3) and other ranaviruses (rvs) are contributing to the amphibian declines, while the mechanisms controlling anuran tadpole susceptibility and adult frog resistance to rvs, including the roles of polymorphonuclear granulocytes (pmns) during anti-fv3 responses, remain largely unknown. since amphibian kidneys represent an important fv3 target, the inability of amphibian (xenopus laevis) tadpoles to mount effective kidney inflammatory responses to fv3 is thought to cont ...	2017	28238879
the benefits of coinfection: trematodes alter disease outcomes associated with virus infection.	1.coinfections are increasingly recognized as important drivers of disease dynamics. consequently, greater emphasis has been placed on integrating principles from community ecology with disease ecology to understand within-host interactions among parasites. using larval amphibians and two amphibian parasites (ranaviruses and the trematode echinoparyphium sp.), we examined the influence of coinfection on disease outcomes. 2.our first objective was to examine how priority effects (the timing and s ...	2017	28317105
mass mortality of eastern box turtles with upper respiratory disease following atypical cold weather.	emerging infectious diseases cause population declines in many ectotherms, with outbreaks frequently punctuated by periods of mass mortality. it remains unclear, however, whether thermoregulation by ectotherms and variation in environmental temperature is associated with mortality risk and disease progression, especially in wild populations. here, we examined environmental and body temperatures of free-ranging eastern box turtles terrapene carolina during a mass die-off coincident with upper res ...	2017	28425422
delineating the roles of cellular and innate antiviral immune parameters mediating ranavirus susceptibility using rainbow trout cell lines.	frog virus 3 is the type species of the ranavirus genus and the causative agent of massive mortalities of aquatic species worldwide. a critical step in limiting virus replication, particularly early in infection, is the innate immune response. presently, little is known regarding what innate immune strategies limit fv3 at the cellular level. to this end, the present study uses two rainbow trout cell lines, rtg-2 and rtgutgc, which demonstrate susceptible and relatively resistant phenotypes to fv ...	2017	28634115
ranaviruses and other members of the family iridoviridae: their place in the virosphere.	members of the family iridoviridae, collectively referred to as iridovirids, are large, double-stranded dna-containing viruses that infect invertebrates and cold-blooded (ectothermic) vertebrates. infections in the former often lead to massive levels of virus replication resulting in iridescence of the infected animal and ultimately death. among the latter, infections target a variety of organs and are capable of causing high levels of morbidity and mortality among commercially and ecologically ...	2017	28648249
pathogen richness and abundance predict patterns of adaptive major histocompatibility complex variation in insular amphibians.	the identification of the factors responsible for genetic variation and differentiation at adaptive loci can provide important insights into the evolutionary process and is crucial for the effective management of threatened species. we studied the impact of environmental viral richness and abundance on functional diversity and differentiation of the mhc class ia locus in populations of the black-spotted pond frog (pelophylax nigromaculatus), an iucn-listed species, on 24 land-bridge islands of t ...	2017	28734069
a severe ranavirus outbreak in captive, wild-caught box turtles.	a ranavirus outbreak in a captive population of wild-caught individuals was monitored using clinical evaluations and real-time pcr in 317 wild box turtles held in captivity during translocation. during the 2-year study period, the population experienced 71.6% mortality, suggesting that ranaviruses can rapidly attenuate populations. wide variation in infection rate (7-94% per sampling period) was observed, which may have been driven by clearing and reinfection, adaptive immunity, or imperfect det ...	2017	28766064
ranavirus phylogenomics: signatures of recombination and inversions among bullfrog ranaculture isolates.	ranaviruses are emerging pathogens of fish, amphibians, and reptiles that threaten aquatic animal industries and wildlife worldwide. our objective was to genetically characterize ranaviruses isolated during separate bullfrog lithobates catesbeianus die-offs that occurred eight years apart on the same north american farm. the earlier outbreak was due to a highly pathogenic strain of common midwife toad virus (cmtv) previously known only from europe and china. the later outbreak was due to a chime ...	2017	28803676
complete genome sequence of frog virus 3, isolated from a strawberry poison frog (oophaga pumilio) imported from nicaragua into the netherlands.	frog virus 3 was isolated from a strawberry poison frog (oophaga pumilio) imported from nicaragua via germany to the netherlands, and its complete genome sequence was determined. frog virus 3 isolate op/2015/netherlands/uu3150324001 is 107,183 bp long and has a nucleotide similarity of 98.26% to the reference frog virus 3 isolate.	2017	28860243
screening of a long-term sample set reveals two ranavirus lineages in british herpetofauna.	reports of severe disease outbreaks in amphibian communities in mainland europe due to strains of the common midwife toad virus (cmtv)-like clade of ranavirus are increasing and have created concern due to their considerable population impacts. in great britain, viruses in another clade of ranavirus-frog virus 3 (fv3)-like-have caused marked declines of common frog (rana temporaria) populations following likely recent virus introductions. the british public has been reporting mortality incidents ...	2017	28931029
effect of imidacloprid on the survival of xenopus tadpoles challenged with wild type frog virus 3.	the sensitivity of amphibians to ranavirus may be increased by exposure to other environmental stressors, including chemical contaminants. neonicotinoid insecticides comprise 27% of the global insecticide market and have been detected in wetlands and other aquatic habitats. the present study focused on the effects of exposure of pre-metamorphic xenopus laevis to the neonicotinoid, imidacloprid (imi) on sensitivity to frog virus 3 (fv3) infection. it was hypothesized that exposure of tadpoles to ...	0	29179150
differentiation-dependent antiviral capacities of amphibian (xenopus laevis) macrophages.	infections by ranaviruses such as frog virus 3 (fv3) are significantly contributing to the worldwide amphibian population declines. notably, amphibian macrophages (mφs) are important to both the fv3 infection strategies and the immune defense against this pathogen. however, the mechanisms underlying amphibian mφ fv3 susceptibility and resistance remain unknown. mφ differentiation is mediated by signaling through the colony-stimulating factor-1 receptor (csf-1r), which is now known to be bound by ...	2017	29259133
detection of ranavirus using bone marrow harvested from mortality events in eastern box turtles ( terrapene carolina carolina).	the causes of free-living chelonian mortality events are often unknown because of infrequent recovery of remains and rapid postmortem decomposition. this study describes a technique to harvest bone marrow and detect frog virus 3-like ranavirus (fv3) using quantitative polymerase chain reaction in skeletonized eastern box turtles ( terrapene carolina carolina) ( n = 87), and assesses agreement with concurrent perimortem samples ( n = 14). fv3 was detected in bone marrow samples from 12 turtle she ...	2017	29297832