Complete genomic sequence and taxonomic position of eel virus European X (EVEX), a rhabdovirus of European eel.

Eel virus European X (EVEX) was first isolated from diseased European eel Anguilla anguilla in Japan at the end of seventies. The virus was tentatively classified into the Rhabdoviridae family on the basis of morphology and serological cross reactivity. This family of viruses is organized into six genera and currently comprises approximately 200 members, many of which are still unassigned because of the lack of molecular data.

Genetic diversity of perch rhabdoviruses isolates based on the nucleoprotein and glycoprotein genes.

Despite the increasing impact of rhabdoviruses in European percid farming, the diversity of the viral populations is still poorly investigated. To address this issue, we sequenced the partial nucleoprotein (N) and complete glycoprotein (G) genes of nine rhabdoviruses isolated from perch (Perca fluviatilis) between 1999 and 2010, mostly from France, and analyzed six of them by immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT). Using two rabbit antisera raised against either the reference perch rhabdovirus (PRhV) isolated in 1980 or the perch isolate R6146, two serogroups were distinguished.

Evolution of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV), a fish rhabdovirus, in Europe over 20 years: implications for control.

The fish pathogenic rhabdovirus infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) causes substantial losses in European aquaculture. IHNV was first detected in Europe in 1987 and has since undergone considerable spread. Phylogenetic analyses of the full G-gene sequences of 73 isolates obtained from 4 countries in Europe (France, n = 18; Italy, 9; Switzerland, 4; Germany, 42) enable determination of the evolution of the virus in Europe since the first detection, and identification of characteristic changes within the G-genes of European strains.

Viral encephalopathy and retinopathy of Dicentrarchus labrax and Sparus aurata farmed in Tunisia.

Viruses belonging to the Nodaviridae family cause disease worldwide among a large number of species of marine fish, and have been described in all continents. In the present study, a total of 69 farmed Tunisian sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and 24 sea bream (Sparus aurata) samples were tested monthly for the detection of betanodavirus. The virus was identified in both species using indirect immunofluorescence assays (IFAT) and RT-PCR.

Characterization and mapping of monoclonal antibodies against the Sleeping disease virus, an aquatic alphavirus.

Sleeping disease virus (SDV) is an emerging pathogen in salmonid aquacultures, the impact of which is underestimated to date due to the lack of efficient diagnostic tools. To better characterize this new aquatic alphavirus and to make molecular tools available, a panel of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) directed against SDV non-structural and structural proteins has been generated by immunizing mice with SDV-specific recombinant proteins overexpressed in Escherichia coli as antigens. So far, mAbs against nsP1, nsP3, E2 and E1 SDV proteins have been produced and their reactivity has been characterized by Western blot, radioimmunoprecipitation and indirect immunofluorescence assays.