DETECTION OF TESTADENOVIRUSES AND ATADENOVIRUSES IN TORTOISES AND TURTLES IN EUROPE.

Adenoviruses have been regularly detected in squamate reptiles; evidence of infection in chelonians is described much less frequently. The adenoviruses found in turtles and tortoises have been genetically diverse, and have included members of the genus , a proposed testadenovirus genus, and, in a single case, an . In this study, samples from 949 chelonians submitted to a diagnostic laboratory were screened for the presence of adenoviruses by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting a portion of the DNA polymerase gene. Adenoviruses were detected in 22 (2.3%) chelonians of different species. Adenovirus-positive species included Hermann's tortoises (i), spur-thighed tortoises (), Horsfield's tortoises (), sliders ( spp.), box turtles ( spp.) and a black pond turtle (). Sequencing and phylogenetic analyses of the obtained PCR products revealed that the majority of the detected adenoviruses (72.7%) cluster with members of the proposed testadenovirus genus, while the rest (27.3%) cluster with the atadenoviruses. This study significantly expands the known host range of both the proposed testadenoviruses and the atadenoviruses in different chelonian species and families.