Sequencing of selected genes of variant Guiana Dolphin (GDMV) of cetacean morbillivirus detected in a dolphin of the species Sotalia guianensis in Brazil

• Grant number: 24/17721-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: May 01, 2025
• End date: December 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Lara Borges Keid
• Grantee: Rafaela Victoria Lisboa
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Zootecnia e Engenharia de Alimentos (FZEA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Pirassununga , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Among the pathogens that cause infectious diseases in aquatic mammals, morbilliviruses are considered of great relevance due to their potential to transmit quickly between hosts and cause large outbreaks with severe clinical manifestations and high mortality in susceptible populations. Morbillivirus infections in cetaceans are described worldwide and can be caused by several genetic variants of the species Morbillivirus ceti. Infections have already been described in Brazil in several species of cetaceans, the majority of them being caused by the variant called Guiana Dolphin Morbillivirus (GDMV), whose first description was made in the national territory, and being prevalent in the southern hemisphere. Despite frequent reports of the infection in Brazil, many questions still need to be clarified about this viral agent and its relationships with cetacean hosts. To achieve this, it is essential to sequence the virus genome, which can be carried out using new generation sequencing platforms or the traditional Sanger method, which, for a virus with a relatively small genome such as morbillivirus, is not unfeasible. Our research group has already made some attempts to sequence the complete genome of the GDMA variant, but without success. In view of the urgency of obtaining more comprehensive genetic information about this virus, the present study aims to sequence three complete genes from a GDMV sample detected in Guiana dolphins (Sotalia guianensis) in the state of Alagoas, Brazil. The genes encoding the viral phosphoprotein (P), nucleoprotein (N) and hemagglutinin (H) will be sequenced using the Sanger method, initially using consensus primers and subsequently designing new primers based on the amplicons initially generated for each gene, according to the primer walking procedure. The results obtained may support future projects to be conducted by our research group in order to evaluate certain characteristics of these genes and the proteins they encode that are relevant to a better understanding of this important infection. (AU)