The genus Macavirus of the subfamily Gammaherpesvirinae comprises two genetically distinct lineages of lymphotropic viruses. One of these lineages includes viruses that can cause malignant catarrhal fever (MCF), which are known as MCF viruses (MCFV). All MCFVs are genetically and antigenically related but carried by different hosts. In this study, we report the recognition of new MCFV carried by bighorn sheep. The virus was first identified in a bighorn sheep from Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. Analysis of a conserved region of the viral DNA polymerase gene of the virus carried by this bighorn sheep showed 85.88% nucleotide identity to the MCFV carried by domestic sheep, ovine herpesvirus 2 (OvHV-2). Further investigation of bighorn samples obtained from animals in the US and Canada showed 98.87-100% identity to the DNA polymerase sequence of the first bighorn in the study. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the MCFV carried by bighorn sheep is closely related but distinct from OvHV-2. Epidemiological and virulence features of the newly recognized MCFV are still unknown and warrant further investigation. Considering the current nomenclature for MCFVs, we suggest a tentative designation of ovine herpesvirus-3 (OvHV-3) for this newly identified bighorn sheep MCFV.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.virusres.2019.197729 | DOI Listing |
Microorganisms
December 2024
Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA.
Bighorn sheep (BHS) populations have been reported to experience high levels of morbidity and mortality following infection with . This contrasts with the subclinical presentation in domestic sheep (DS). Understanding this difference requires baseline knowledge of pre- and post-infection immune responses of both species.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Rep
December 2024
United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Tulsa, OK, USA.
Abundance estimates inform ungulate management and recovery efforts. Yet effective and affordable estimation techniques remain absent for most ungulates lacking identifiable marks and inhabiting rugged or highly vegetated terrain. Methods using N-mixture models with camera trap imagery form an appealing solution but remain unvalidated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAbstractDensity dependence is often assumed in population dynamics, but its importance in small, isolated populations has been questioned. We evaluated the relative influence of density dependence, environmental conditions, and sporadic events (disease outbreaks and specialist predators) on annual population growth rate, annual female reproduction, and annual survival of juveniles and adult females in three populations of mountain ungulates. We analyzed long-term (30-47 years) individual-based data on two bighorn sheep populations and one mountain goat population in Alberta, Canada.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Wildl Dis
November 2024
Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, 589 D. W. Brooks Dr., Athens, Georgia 30602, USA.
Mol Biol Evol
November 2024
Frontiers Science Center for Molecular Design Breeding (MOE), State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
Previous studies revealed extensive genetic introgression between Ovis species, which affects genetic adaptation and morphological traits. However, the exact evolutionary scenarios underlying the hybridization between sheep and allopatric wild relatives remain unknown. To address this problem, we here integrate the reference genomes of several ovine and caprine species: domestic sheep, argali, bighorn sheep, snow sheep, and domestic goats.
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