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Feline leukemia virus outbreak in the critically endangered Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus): high-throughput sequencing of envelope variable region A and experimental transmission

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Abstract

The Iberian lynx is the most endangered felid species. During winter/spring 2006/7, a feline leukemia virus (FeLV) outbreak of unexpected virulence killed about 2/3 of the infected Iberian lynxes. All FeLV-positive animals were co-infected with feline hemoplasmas. To further characterize the Iberian lynx FeLV strain and evaluate its potential virulence, the FeLV envelope gene variable region A (VRA) mutant spectrum was analyzed using the Roche 454 sequencing technology, and an in vivo transmission study of lynx blood to specified-pathogen-free cats was performed. VRA mutations indicated weak apolipoprotein B mRNA editing enzyme and catalytic polypeptide-like cytidine deaminase (APOBEC) restriction of FeLV replication, and variants characteristic of aggressive FeLV strains, such as FeLV-C or FeLV-A/61C, were not detected. Cats exposed to FeLV/Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum-positive lynx blood did not show a particularly severe outcome of infection. The results underscore the special susceptibility of Iberian lynxes to infectious diseases.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are indebted to the Environmental Council of the Government of Andalusia, southern Spain, for providing the Iberian lynx samples. The lynxes used in the present study were trapped, radio-tracked and sampled as part of research projects CGL2004-00346/BOS of the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science and 17/2005 of the Spanish Ministry of the Environment under the National Parks research program, with the collaboration of Land Rover España S.A. We acknowledge support by the Promedica Foundation, Chur, Switzerland. Laboratory work was performed using the logistics of the Center for Clinical Studies at the Vetsuisse Faculty of the University of Zurich. This study was conducted by C.G. as partial fulfillment of the requirement of a doctoral thesis at the Vetsuisse Faculty of the University of Zurich. V.C. is the recipient of a research grant from the University of Zurich (Forschungskredit 2009). R.H.L. is the recipient of a professorship from the Swiss National Science Foundation (PP00P3-119136). The project was supported by the University of Zurich, Switzerland, by financing the operational activities of the clinical laboratory of the Vetsuisse Faculty, Zurich. We also thank the Functional Genomics Center Zurich for generous support with next-generation sequencing resources. We thank Dr. O. Jarrett, who kindly provided the FeLV-A/Glasgow-1 virus stock, and T. Meili, M. Rios, D. Brasser, M. Künzli and R. Bruggmann for excellent assistance. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Laboratory, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 260, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland

    C. P. Geret, V. Cattori, M. L. Meli, B. Riond, R. Hofmann-Lehmann & H. Lutz

  2. Centro de Cria en Cautividad de Lince Ibérico El Acebuche, Espacio Natural de Doñana, 21760, Matalascañas, Huelva, Spain

    F. Martínez & A. Vargas

  3. Egmasa-Consejería de Medio Ambiente, Córdoba, Spain

    G. López & M. A. Simón

  4. Departamento de Biología de la Conservación, Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC), Seville, Spain

    J. V. López-Bao

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  1. C. P. Geret
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  2. V. Cattori
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  10. R. Hofmann-Lehmann
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  11. H. Lutz
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Correspondence to V. Cattori.

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C. P. Geret, V. Cattori contributed equally to this project and should be considered co-first authors.

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Geret, C.P., Cattori, V., Meli, M.L. et al. Feline leukemia virus outbreak in the critically endangered Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus): high-throughput sequencing of envelope variable region A and experimental transmission. Arch Virol 156, 839–854 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-011-0925-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-011-0925-z

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