This is the first report of betanodavirus infection in 2 species of finfish, Kuhlia rupestris (jungle perch) and Ambassis marianus (estuary perchlet). This report also describes isolation of betanodavirus from infected pond water using the SSN-1 cell line. Histopathology of K. rupestris larvae revealed vacuolation in the eye and brain, which was confirmed using betanodavirus-specific immunohistochemistry. The eye and brain from A. marianus and betanodavirus isolated from pond water were confirmed using real-time PCR and Sanger sequencing. High throughput sequencing was used to obtain betanodavirus sequences from paraffin blocks containing infected K. rupestris. The phylogenetic analysis of betanodavirus RNA1 and RNA2 sequences from all 3 sources were associated with the red-spotted grouper nervous necrosis virus (RGNNV) genotype. The RNA1 nucleotide sequence from jungle perch showed 100% identity with the betanodavirus water isolate and 99.37% identity with A. marianus. Furthermore, we have demonstrated the usefulness of combining recovery of viable virus from environmental samples through fish cell line culture with PCR testing as a means of validating the efficacy of chlorination to eradicate betanodavirus from the pond environment.
Keywords: Ambassis marianus; Betanodavirus; High throughput sequencing; Kuhlia rupestris; Phylogeny.