PCR-based prevalence of a fatal reovirus of the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus (Rathbun) along the northern Atlantic coast of the USA.

ABSTRACT: There is a need for more information on the relationship between diseases and fluctuations of wild populations of marine animals. In the case of Callinectes sapidus reovirus 1 (CsRV1, also known as RLV), there is a lack of baseline information on range, prevalence and outbreaks, from which to develop an understanding of population-level impacts. An RT-qPCR assay was developed that is capable of detecting 10 copies of the CsRV1 genome. In collaboration with state, federal and academic partners, blue crabs were collected from sites throughout the north-eastern United States to assess the northern range of this pathogen. In addition, archived crab samples from the Chesapeake Bay were assessed for CsRV1 by RT-qPCR and histology. PCR-based assessments indicate that CsRV1 was present at all but

SUBMITTER: Flowers EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5324600 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature