Viral fitness does not correlate with three genotype displacement events involving infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus.

ABSTRACT: Viral genotype displacement events are characterized by the replacement of a previously dominant virus genotype by a novel genotype of the same virus species in a given geographic region. We examine here the fitness of three pairs of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) genotypes involved in three major genotype displacement events in Washington state over the last 30 years to determine whether increased virus fitness correlates with displacement. Fitness was assessed using in vivo assays to measure viral replication in single infection, simultaneous co-infection, and sequential superinfection in the natural host, steelhead trout. In addition, virion stability of each genotype was measured in freshwater and seawater environments at various temperatures. By these methods, we found

SUBMITTER: Kell AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4157104 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature