Freshwater Mussel Viromes Increase Rapidly in Diversity and Abundance When Hosts Are Released from Captivity into the Wild.

ABSTRACT: Freshwater mussels (order: Unionida) are highly imperiled globally and are increasingly the focus of captive propagation efforts to protect and restore wild populations. The Upper Tennessee River Basin (UTRB) in Virginia is a freshwater biodiversity hotspot hosting at least 45 of North America's ~300 species of freshwater mussels, including 21 threatened and endangered species listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Recent studies have documented that viruses and other microbes have contributed to freshwater mussel population declines in the UTRB. We conducted a multi-year longitudinal study of captive-reared hatchery mussels released to restoration sites throughout the UTRB to evaluate their viromes and compare them to captive hatchery environments. We documented 681 viruses from 27

SUBMITTER: Richard JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11393864 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature