Cyprinid herpesvirus 3 (CyHV-3) also known as koi herpesvirus (KHV) is a causative agent of highly contagious disease (koi herpesvirus disease) and can cause significant losses in fish stocks. The disease is restricted to koi and common carp, but recent investigations have shown that other cyprinids as well as non-cyprinid species may be asymptomatically susceptible to this virus and might play roles as potential carriers or can contribute to biological conservation leading to persistence of this virus in environment. Therefore, it seems to be important to verify not only the susceptibility of other cyprinid and non-cyprinid species, but also their ability to transmit KHV infection to susceptible species. We investigated the susceptibility of stone loach (Barbatula barbatula) and sterbel - a hybrid between sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus) and beluga (Huso huso) to KHV. The investigation was performed by means of their cohabitation together with na?ve koi and intraperitoneally KHV-infected koi (primary challenge). This part of investigation is followed by secondary challenge, when a portion of the surviving stone loach and sterbel was cohabited with health na?ve koi (testing of ability to carry KHV). All samples of fish both from primary challenge and secondary challenge were tested for the presence of KHV DNA by nested PCR. In the primary challenge, results of PCR revealed the presence of KHV DNA in 95% of cohabited na?ve koi samples. Furthermore, PCR analysis of fish samples surviving primary challenge revealed the presence of viral DNA in 77.8% (7/9) of stone loach and in 22.2% (2/9) of sterbel. In case of samples of fish coming from secondary challenge, nested PCR did not reveal any of them to be positive for KHV DNA. Next investigation was focused on assessment of the susceptibility of topmouth gudgeon (Pseudorasbora parva). In this case, we performed cohabitation based on two different conditions. All experiments consisted of primary and secondary challenges as well as in all previous cases. Firstly, we tested topmouth gudgeon under standard conditions (no-stress experiment). After the primary challenge, nested PCR did not reveal the presence of KHV DNA in any specimen of cohabited topmouth gudgeon, but all specimens of dead koi were KHV DNA positive. Nested PCR of fish tissues subjected to the secondary challenge did not show the transfer of virus to naive fish. After that, we changed the experimental conditions and we applied two stress factors (scaring by net and removal of skin mucus) to imitate the stress most commonly encountered in the wild. In this case, all samples were tested for the presence of KHV DNA using real-time PCR. After exposure to stress (removal of skin mucus), real-time PCR revealed four out of five samples (80%) of topmouth gudgeon to be positive for KHV DNA. Two out of five samples (40%) of topmouth gudgeon treated by scaring were found to be positive for the presence of viral DNA. Real-time PCR after the secondary challenge did not reveal any viral DNA positivity in specimens of topmouth gudgeon from groups previously exposed to stress. The stress experiments showed that removal of skin mucus might potentially lead to susceptibility of topmouth gudgeon to CyHV-3 infection, but the transmission of the virus to koi carp was not observed. Even though PCRs positive findings of KHV DNA in tissues of fish were relatively low, the presented results of cohabitation assays of cyprinid and non-cyprinid fish species indicate other species showing slight asymptomatic susceptibility to CyHV-3. On the other hand, on the base of our results coming from "virus-carrier" assays, we could not prove that hybrids between sterlet and beluga, stone loach and topmouth gudgeon can transfer this virus to naive koi.

Since the late 1990s, common carp and koi production enterprises around the world have suffered enormous losses due to a viral disease caused by cyprinid herpesvirus-3 (CyHV-3). Genetic variation in resistance to CyHV-3 infection was observed in different common carp strains, indicating that disease resistance can be improved by selective breeding. Marker-assisted selection is a breeding strategy that can accelerate genetic gain; however, this approach requires genetic markers and a genetic linkage map. To develop molecular tools for breeding CyHV-3-resistant aquaculture stock, several candidate genes for antiviral innate immune response from common carp were isolated, and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified. SNP markers for common carp immune response genes were developed for testing their linkage to disease resistance and for generating a genetic linkage map. Common carp immune response genes were isolated using degenerate primers developed from conserved peptide regions among other fish species for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification. The amplified products were cloned and sequenced. Gene-specific primers were designed based on the isolated carp gene sequences to amplify gene fragments from genomic DNA of three carp strains and koi. The amplified products were cloned and sequenced to identify SNPs. For the genes that are duplicated, locus-specific primers were used for PCR amplification. SNPs were identified in several genes, including TLR2, TLR3a, TLR3b, TLR4a, TLR4b, TLR7a, TLR7b, TLR9, TLR21, TLR22, MyD88a, MyD88b, TRAF6a, TRAF6b, type I IFN, IL-1β, IL10a and IL10b. Putative SNPs were genotyped in a SNP discovery panel consisting of different common carp strains and koi to evaluate their allele frequencies and in a full-sib family to validate their segregation patterns using the SNaPshot method. Validated SNPs were used to genotype a mapping family. Twenty-three SNPs (19 exonic and 4 intronic SNPs) were informative in a mapping family. Among these genes, polymorphisms in IL10a suggested a possible association with resistant and susceptible phenotypes of CyHV-3-challenged fish. These SNPs will be analyzed with a set of approximately 300 microsatellites to generate a second-generation genetic map and to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) affecting resistance to CyHV-3. Among the common carp genes that were isolated and sequenced, TLR9 is known for its ability to detect viral DNA and requires adaptor molecules MyD88 and TRAF6 for signal transduction. Therefore TLR9, MyD88 and TRAF6 may be important candidate genes for mediating host antiviral response to CyHV-3. To elucidate possible functions of these genes, full-length cDNAs of common carp TLR9, MyD88 and TRAF6 were isolated and tissue-specific mRNA expression was determined. cDNA sequences of MyD88 and TRAF6 revealed that these genes are duplicated. These findings were the first report of MyD88 and TRAF6 duplications in a vertebrate. Protein domain characterization demonstrated that structural characteristics of these genes are conserved and resemble those of other vertebrates, indicating that common carp TLR9, MyD88 and TRAF6 genes may have identical functions with their mammalian orthologs. The mRNA expression of TLR9, MyD88a and b, and TRAF6a and b varied among tissues. Differential expression of the MyD88 and TRAF6 paralogous transcripts were observed in muscle tissues, suggesting that one paralog has evolved and attained a non-immune function. This genomic information will facilitate further research to better understand the ligand specificity of TLR9 and the role of TLR9, MyD88 and TRAF6 in the common carp immune response. / Ph. D.

The expanding aquaculture industry continues to encounter major challenges in the form of highly contagious aquatic viruses. Control and eradication measures targeting the most lethal and economically damaging virus-induced diseases, some of which are notifiable, currently involve ‘stamping out’ policies and surveillance strategies. These approaches to disease control are performed through mass-culling followed by restriction in the movement of fish and fish products, resulting in considerable impacts on trade. Although effective, these expensive, ethically complex measures threaten the sustainability and reputation of the aquatic food sector, and could possibly be reduced by emulating innovative vaccination strategies that have proved pivotal in maintaining the success of the terrestrial livestock industry. DIVA ‘differentiating infected from vaccinated animal’ strategies provide a basis to vaccinate and contain disease outbreaks without compromising ‘disease-free’ status, as antibodies induced specifically to infection can be distinguished from those induced in vaccinated animals. Various approaches were carried out in this study to assess the feasibility of marker/DIVA vaccination for two of the most important disease threats to the global Atlantic salmon and common carp/koi industries, i.e. infectious salmon anaemia (ISA) and koi herpesvirus disease (KHVD), respectively. Antibody responses of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.), following immunisation with an ISA vaccine, administered with foreign immunogenic marker antigens (tetanus toxoid (TT), fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) and keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH)) were assessed by antigen-specific enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Although antibodies were induced to some markers, these were unreliable and may have been affected by temperature and smoltification. Detectable antibodies to ISAV antigen were also largely inconsistent despite low serum dilutions of 1/20 being employed for serological analysis. The poor antibody responses of salmon to the inactivated ISA vaccine suggested that DIVA vaccination is not feasible for ISA. A similar approach for KHV, utilising green fluorescent protein (GFP) as the marker, similarly failed to induce sufficiently detectable antibody responses in vaccinated carp (Cyprinus carpio L.). However, as high anti-KHV antibody titres were obtained with an inactivated KHV vaccine (≥1/3200), alternative approaches were carried out to assess the feasibility of DIVA vaccination for carp. Investigations of early KHV pathogenesis in vivo and antigen expression kinetics in vitro (0-10 days post infection (dpi)) provided valuable data for the diagnostics necessary for DIVA surveillance strategies. Following viral infection, molecular methods were shown to be the most effective approach for early detection of KHV infected fish prior to sero-conversion, during which time antibodies are not detectable. An experimental immersion challenge with KHV, however, revealed complications in molecular detection during early infection. The KHV DNA was detected in external biopsies of skin and gills, but also internally in gut and peripheral blood leukocytes ≤ 6 hours post infection (hpi), suggesting rapid virus uptake by the host. The gills and gut appeared to be possible portals of entry, supported by detection of DNA in cells by in situ hybridisation (ISH). However, many false negative results using organ biopsies occurred during the first 4 dpi. The gills were the most reliable lethal biopsy for KHV detection by various polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays, with a PCR targeting a glycoprotein-gene (ORF56) and a real-time PCR assay being the most sensitive of the 7 methods investigated. Importantly, non-lethal mucus samples reduced the number of false negative results obtained by all KHV PCR assays during the earliest infection stages with large levels of viral DNA being detected in mucus (up to 80,000 KHV DNA genomic equivalents 200 μL-1). KHV DNA was consistently detected in the mucus as a consequence of virus being shed from the skin. Determining the expression kinetics of different viral structural proteins can be useful for DIVA serological tests. Analysis of KHV antigen expression in tissues by immunohistochemistry and indirect fluorescent antibody test was inconclusive, therefore 2 novel semi-quantitative immunofluorescence techniques were developed for determining KHV antigen expression kinetics in susceptible cell lines. During the course of KHV infection in vitro, a greater abundance of capsid antigen was produced in infected cells compared to a glycoprotein antigen (ORF56), as determined by detection with antigen-specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). The capsid antigen was characterised as a ~100 kDa protein by SDS-PAGE and identified as a product of KHV ORF84 by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/TOF MS). This antigen was subsequently detected in the serum of >25% of KHV infected/exposed carp (6/17), as well as in carp vaccinated with a live attenuated vaccine (3/4), but not with an inactivated vaccine (0/7), by Western blot making it a potential DIVA target for an inactivated vaccine. Attempts were made to improve the sensitivity of KHV serological testing by taking advantage of recombinant proteins specific for KHV (CyHV-3), rORF62 and rORF68 and eliminating any interference by cross-reacting antibodies to carp pox (CyHV-1). These proteins successfully reacted with anti-KHV antibodies. The feasibility of DIVA strategies for KHVD was determined using these recombinant antigens to coat ELISA plates. Differential antibody responses were detected from carp sera to an internal virus tegument protein (rORF62) and external region of a transmembrane protein (rORF68). Fish vaccinated with an inactivated vaccine produced significantly lower antibody responses to rORF62 than to rORF68, whereas infected, exposed and live attenuated vaccinated fish recognised both proteins allowing differentiation between vaccinated and infected carp. However, the sensitivity of the assay was limited, possibly by high levels of natural antibodies detected at the relatively low serum dilutions (1/200) used. As the capsid antigen (ORF84) and tegument protein (ORF62) are derived from internal KHV structural proteins, they induce non-neutralising antibodies, which may be useful for DIVA strategies. Such antibodies are longer lasting than neutralising antibodies and often comprise the majority of fish anti-viral antibodies. This was noted in a fish surviving experimental challenge, which had an antibody titre of 1/10,000, but neutralising titre of 1/45. Such antigens may therefore hold potential for developing effective serological diagnostic tests for KHV and provide the potential for DIVA strategies against KHVD. Natural antibodies will, however, continue to present a challenge to the development of sensitive and reliable KHV serological tests, and hence the application of DIVA strategies.