Molecular detection and phylogenetic analysis of adenovirus associated with fatal disease of juvenile bearded dragons(Pogona vitticeps) in Croatia

Australski su gušteri, bradate agame (Pogona vitticeps), vrlo popularni kućni ljubimci koji se uzgajaju u zatočeništvu u brojnim zemljama, a međunarodna trgovina ove vrste guštera nije zanemariva. Bradate agame su osjetljive na infekciju adenovirusom agamida tipa 1 (BDAdv-1) čiji je uzročnik usko povezan s raznim kliničkim znacima poput: iznenadne smrti, letargije, slabosti, proljeva, dehidracije, anoreksije, zaostajanja u rastu i neuroloških simptoma koji nastaju zbog oštećenja jetara. Opisana je fatalna bolest dviju juvenilnih bradatih agama u Hrvatskoj tijekom koje je detektirana infekcija adenovirusom. Osim slabosti, anoreksije, kaheksije i dehidracije, u jedne agame je bio naglašen opistotonus. U fecesu agama je postupkom lančane reakcije polimerazom dokazan adenovirus, dok je nukleotidnim sekvenciranjem i filogenijskom analizom nađena visoka podudarnost s BDAdv-1 izolatima iz bradatih agama u SAD-u, Austriji i Njemačkoj (>99,6 %-100 %), ali i s BDAdv-1 iz slobodnoživućih bradatih agama u Australiji (>99,2 %). Pokušaj izdvajanja virusa kroz dvije pasaže u pačjim embrijima ili deset pasaža u kokošjim embrijima nije dao pozitivan rezultat.Bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps) are popular pets bred in captivity in numerous countries, with considerable international trade of this species. Bearded dragons are sensitive to bearded dragon adenovirus 1 (BDAdv-1) which causes or is closely associated with various clinical symptoms including sudden death, lethargy, weakness, diarrhoea, dehydration, anorexia, retarded growth, and neurological symptoms resulting from liver damage. A fatal disease of two juvenile bearded dragons in Croatia during which adenovirus was detected is described. Weakness, anorexia, cachexia and dehydration were present in the male and the female bearded dragon, in addition to marked opistothonus in the female. The adenovirus was detected by PCR while nucleotide sequencing and phylogenetic analysis revealed high homology with BDAdv-1 strains from bearded dragons in the United States, Austria and Germany (>99.6–100%), but also with BDAdv-1 from free-ranging Australian bearded dragons (>99.2%). An attempt to isolate the virus through two passages in duck embryos or ten passages in chicken embryos did not yield a positive result