Engineering iridoviruses: development of reverse genetics and virus rescue systems.

ABSTRACT: Iridoviruses are a family of large DNA viruses that infect insects and poikilotherm vertebrates, including amphibians, reptiles, and fish. Notably, members of the genus Ranavirus cause mass mortality in fish and amphibians, threatening aquaculture and contributing to global amphibian decline. Despite their omnipresence and impact, key aspects of iridovirus biology remain unknown, largely due to the absence of reverse genetics systems. In this study, we developed, characterized, and utilized a reverse genetics system for frog virus 3 (FV3, Ranavirus rana1), one of the most widely studied iridoviruses. The rescued virus exhibits growth and phenotypic properties identical to those of the parental virus isolate. Furthermore, we established an alternative approach of virus reconst

SUBMITTER: Vladimirova D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12090718 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature