Pathogen exposure surveillance in Southern Ocean pinnipeds
An increased pressure of human activities that can introduce new infectious agents and therefore alter host-pathogen interactions, resulting in epizootics and biodiversity loss, challenges the Southern Ocean. Health status information and the potential effect of disease outbreaks in the Southern Oce...
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UiT Norges arktiske universitet
2019
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10037/25206 |
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ftunivtroemsoe:oai:munin.uit.no:10037/25206 2023-05-15T13:45:59+02:00 Pathogen exposure surveillance in Southern Ocean pinnipeds Núñez Egido, Sandra 2019-05-15 https://hdl.handle.net/10037/25206 eng eng UiT Norges arktiske universitet UiT The Arctic University of Norway https://hdl.handle.net/10037/25206 openAccess Copyright 2019 The Author(s) Infection Biology BIO-3950 Master thesis Mastergradsoppgave 2019 ftunivtroemsoe 2022-05-25T22:58:56Z An increased pressure of human activities that can introduce new infectious agents and therefore alter host-pathogen interactions, resulting in epizootics and biodiversity loss, challenges the Southern Ocean. Health status information and the potential effect of disease outbreaks in the Southern Ocean fauna is scare and evaluating the susceptibility to new infectious agents is decisive for its conservation. Herein we assess the exposure of Antarctic fur seals (AFS, Arctocephalus gazella) and Southern elephant seals (SES, Mirounga leonina) to pathogens known to be present in pinnipeds elsewhere. AFS (n = 65) serum and swab samples and SES (n = 13) serum samples from the sub-Antarctic island of Bouvet (54º41’S, 03º29’E) were collected in two austral summers (2014-2015, 2017-2018). Three PCR protocols for parapoxvirus DNA detection amplifying the DNA polymerase, B2L and GIF genomic regions were performed. The genomic region encoding for glycoprotein B (gB) was targeted to detect Phocine herpes virus-1 (PhHV-1) viral DNA. Sera were assayed for Toxoplasma gondii and smooth Brucella spp. antibodies with indirect enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (iELISAs). PCR amplicons of the expected size were generated for parapoxvirus in two of the 29 AFS pups (nasal swabs, 2014-2015), for the B2L (n=2) and DNA polymerase (n=1) genes, whereas the GIF PCR did not amplify relevant sequences. Sequencing of the PCR amplicons was carried out and blasted in GenBank finding most homology with a seal parapoxvirus, confirming the presence of the virus in AFS for the first time. Antibodies against T. gondii or smooth Brucella spp. were not detected, and no PhHV-1 amplicons were generated. Overall, our data indicate that these seals are not threatened by being exposed to the pathogens tested, although parapoxvirus infections may cause severe disease in young and stressed individuals. These data contribute to the baseline for the evaluation and management of these seal populations. Master Thesis Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Fur Seals Arctocephalus gazella Elephant Seals Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seals Southern Ocean University of Tromsø: Munin Open Research Archive Antarctic Austral Bouvet ENVELOPE(3.358,3.358,-54.422,-54.422) Southern Ocean |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Tromsø: Munin Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftunivtroemsoe |
language |
English |
topic |
Infection Biology BIO-3950 |
spellingShingle |
Infection Biology BIO-3950 Núñez Egido, Sandra Pathogen exposure surveillance in Southern Ocean pinnipeds |
topic_facet |
Infection Biology BIO-3950 |
description |
An increased pressure of human activities that can introduce new infectious agents and therefore alter host-pathogen interactions, resulting in epizootics and biodiversity loss, challenges the Southern Ocean. Health status information and the potential effect of disease outbreaks in the Southern Ocean fauna is scare and evaluating the susceptibility to new infectious agents is decisive for its conservation. Herein we assess the exposure of Antarctic fur seals (AFS, Arctocephalus gazella) and Southern elephant seals (SES, Mirounga leonina) to pathogens known to be present in pinnipeds elsewhere. AFS (n = 65) serum and swab samples and SES (n = 13) serum samples from the sub-Antarctic island of Bouvet (54º41’S, 03º29’E) were collected in two austral summers (2014-2015, 2017-2018). Three PCR protocols for parapoxvirus DNA detection amplifying the DNA polymerase, B2L and GIF genomic regions were performed. The genomic region encoding for glycoprotein B (gB) was targeted to detect Phocine herpes virus-1 (PhHV-1) viral DNA. Sera were assayed for Toxoplasma gondii and smooth Brucella spp. antibodies with indirect enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (iELISAs). PCR amplicons of the expected size were generated for parapoxvirus in two of the 29 AFS pups (nasal swabs, 2014-2015), for the B2L (n=2) and DNA polymerase (n=1) genes, whereas the GIF PCR did not amplify relevant sequences. Sequencing of the PCR amplicons was carried out and blasted in GenBank finding most homology with a seal parapoxvirus, confirming the presence of the virus in AFS for the first time. Antibodies against T. gondii or smooth Brucella spp. were not detected, and no PhHV-1 amplicons were generated. Overall, our data indicate that these seals are not threatened by being exposed to the pathogens tested, although parapoxvirus infections may cause severe disease in young and stressed individuals. These data contribute to the baseline for the evaluation and management of these seal populations. |
format |
Master Thesis |
author |
Núñez Egido, Sandra |
author_facet |
Núñez Egido, Sandra |
author_sort |
Núñez Egido, Sandra |
title |
Pathogen exposure surveillance in Southern Ocean pinnipeds |
title_short |
Pathogen exposure surveillance in Southern Ocean pinnipeds |
title_full |
Pathogen exposure surveillance in Southern Ocean pinnipeds |
title_fullStr |
Pathogen exposure surveillance in Southern Ocean pinnipeds |
title_full_unstemmed |
Pathogen exposure surveillance in Southern Ocean pinnipeds |
title_sort |
pathogen exposure surveillance in southern ocean pinnipeds |
publisher |
UiT Norges arktiske universitet |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/10037/25206 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(3.358,3.358,-54.422,-54.422) |
geographic |
Antarctic Austral Bouvet Southern Ocean |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Austral Bouvet Southern Ocean |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Fur Seals Arctocephalus gazella Elephant Seals Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seals Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Fur Seals Arctocephalus gazella Elephant Seals Mirounga leonina Southern Elephant Seals Southern Ocean |
op_relation |
https://hdl.handle.net/10037/25206 |
op_rights |
openAccess Copyright 2019 The Author(s) |
_version_ |
1766234674108039168 |