Kembou Tsofack Japhette Esther, Zamostiano Rachel, Watted Salsabeel, Berkowitz Asaf, Rosenbluth Ezra, Mishra Nischay, Briese Thomas, Lipkin W Ian, Kabuusu Richard M, Ferguson Hugh, Del Pozo Jorge, Eldar Avi, Bacharach Eran
Department of Cell Research and Immunology, The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Fish Diseases Laboratory, The Kimron Veterinary Institute, Bet Dagan, Israel.
J Clin Microbiol. 2017 Mar;55(3):759-767. doi: 10.1128/JCM.01808-16. Epub 2016 Dec 14.
Tilapia are an important group of farmed fish that serve as a significant protein source worldwide. In recent years, substantial mortality of wild tilapia has been observed in the Sea of Galilee and in commercial ponds in Israel and Ecuador. We have identified the etiological agent of these mass die-offs as a novel orthomyxo-like virus and named it tilapia lake virus (TiLV). Here, we provide the conditions for efficient isolation, culturing, and quantification of the virus, including the use of susceptible fish cell lines. Moreover, we describe a sensitive nested reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) assay allowing the rapid detection of TiLV in fish organs. This assay revealed, for the first time to our knowledge, the presence of TiLV in diseased Colombian tilapia, indicating a wider distribution of this emerging pathogen and stressing the risk that TiLV poses for the global tilapia industry. Overall, the described procedures should provide the tilapia aquaculture industry with important tools for the detection and containment of this pathogen.
罗非鱼是一类重要的养殖鱼类，是全球重要的蛋白质来源。近年来，在加利利海以及以色列和厄瓜多尔的商业池塘中，已观察到野生罗非鱼大量死亡。我们已确定这些大规模死亡事件的病原体是一种新型正黏液样病毒，并将其命名为罗非鱼湖病毒（TiLV）。在此，我们提供了该病毒高效分离、培养和定量的条件，包括使用易感鱼类细胞系。此外，我们描述了一种灵敏的巢式逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）检测方法，可快速检测鱼类器官中的TiLV。据我们所知，该检测方法首次揭示了患病哥伦比亚罗非鱼中存在TiLV，表明这种新出现的病原体分布更广，并强调了TiLV对全球罗非鱼产业构成的风险。总体而言，所描述的程序应为罗非鱼养殖业提供检测和控制这种病原体的重要工具。
