Cyprinid herpesvirus 3 as a potential biological control agent for carp (Cyprinus carpio) in Australia: susceptibility of non‐target species

• Published in: Journal of fish diseases Vol. 40; no. 9; pp. 1141 - 1153
• Main Authors: McColl, K A, Sunarto, A, Slater, J, Bell, K, Asmus, M, Fulton, W, Hall, K, Brown, P, Gilligan, D, Hoad, J, Williams, L M, Crane, M St J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.09.2017
• Subjects: Amphibiotic species; Animals; Aquatic crustaceans; Aquatic reptiles; Australia; Biological control; biological control agent; Biological Control Agents - toxicity; Carp; Carps; Chickens; Crustacea - virology; Crustaceans; Cyprinid herpesvirus 3; Cyprinus carpio; Disease Susceptibility - veterinary; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Fish; Fish Diseases - virology; Fishes - virology; Freshwater fishes; Herpesviridae - physiology; Herpesviridae Infections - veterinary; Herpesviridae Infections - virology; Infections; Injections, Intraperitoneal; Introduced Species; mRNA; non‐target species susceptibility; Pest control; Pest Control, Biological - methods; Poultry; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction - veterinary; RNA, Viral - analysis; Species; Specificity; Vertebrates - virology; Viral infections; Waterways; carp; biological control agent; Australia; Cyprinid herpesvirus 3; non-target species susceptibility
• ISSN: 0140-7775; 1365-2761
• DOI: 10.1111/jfd.12591

Carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) is a pest species in Australian waterways, and cyprinid herpesvirus 3 (CyHV‐3) is being considered as a potential biological control (biocontrol) agent. An important consideration for any such agent is its target specificity. In this study, the susceptibility to CyHV‐3 of a range of non‐target species (NTS) was tested. The NTS were as follows: 13 native Australian, and one introduced, fish species; a lamprey species; a crustacean; two native amphibian species (tadpole and mature stages); two native reptilian species; chickens; and laboratory mice. Animals were exposed to 100–1000 times the approximate minimum amount of CyHV‐3 required to cause disease in carp by intraperitoneal and/or bath challenge, and then examined clinically each day over the course of 28 days post‐challenge. There were no clinical signs, mortalities or histological evidence consistent with a viral infection in a wide taxonomic range of NTS. Furthermore, there was no molecular evidence of infection with CyHV‐3, and, in particular, all RT‐PCRs for viral mRNA were negative. As a consequence, the results encourage further investigation of CyHV‐3 as a potential biocontrol agent that is specific for carp.