coneygree ( foaled 23 february 2007 ) is a british thoroughbred racehorse who competes in national hunt races .

in march 2015 , he became the first novice chaser to win the cheltenham gold cup for more than forty years .

his subsequent career has been hampered by injury and he has not run in the cheltenham gold cup since winning it .

coneygree

coneygree and nico de boinville at the open ditch during sandown’s feature race on sunday . coneygree won at odds of 1 - 4 . photograph : urltoken shutterstock
coneygree is a 14 / 1 chance at sky bet for the ladbrokes gold cup .
coneygree has been ruled out of wednesday ' s guinness kerry national due to testing conditions .
coneygree pictured in action at sandown in 2015 . photograph : hugh routledge / rex / shutterstock
coneygree will miss this year’s cheltenham gold cup as he continues to recover from a setback .
i went with faugheen and don cossack as these two potentially race first and then will then switch to coneygree .
2015 cheltenham gold cup hero coneygree is set for next month’s kerry national at listowel . photograph : dan sheridan / inpho
all roads lead to listowel for coneygree after connections confirmed the popular chaser firmly on course for next month’s kerry national .
sara bradstock , coneygree’s assistant trainer , said : “it was lovely to have him back and his stamina is extraordinary .
coneygree became the first novice to strike for 41 years when making most of the running in the betfred cheltenham gold cup .
coneygree and nico de boinville , left , expect to return to haydock for the betfair chase next week . photograph : urltoken
coneygree and don poli are the star names among 14 novices going forward for the rsa chase at the cheltenham festival on wednesday .
connections of coneygree are leaning towards running him in the betfred cheltenham gold cup on friday rather than in the rsa chase on wednesday .
on november 17 , after two years out with injury , coneygree was withdrawn by a vet at the start of the sis live novices’ chase at plumpton . after 660 days off the track injured , the veterinary professional inspecting horses before the race decided coneygree showed signs of lameness .
the kerry national at listowel has emerged as a possible target for coneygree after he was ruled out of a tilt at the french champion hurdle .
“because he has had so much time off , coneygree hasn’t been off all that time so he is quite wise in his own way . ”
coneygree steamed on . he didn’t know he had won the gold cup . but whatever the hell had just happened , it definitely seemed like fun
coneygree did not feature amongst the final declarations for the rsa chase on wednesday , with a crack at the betfred cheltenham gold cup now appearing likely .
“he went very well , ” said sara bradstock , wife of mark , coneygree’s trainer . “he galloped for a couple of miles and was perfect . he went a mile and a half with a nice bumper horse and then carruthers [ the 2011 hennessy winner ] jumped in and coneygree quickened again .
there was no catching all - the - way winner coneygree in today’s betfred cheltenham gold cup , but the placed horses each ran with great credit .
after coneygree’s brilliant front - running victory in the betfred cheltenham gold cup , sara bradstock , wife of trainer mark and daughter of coneygree’s breeder , the late lord oaksey , said : “it’s so unbelievable . in the last month i’ve been on the yard from 6am to 10pm , and it’s all for this .
it was a case of so near yet so far for owner rich ricci in the betfred cheltenham gold cup after his djakadam had to settle for second behind coneygree .
coneygree could instead return to ireland for the urltoken champion chase at down royal on november 4 , or run in the charlie hall chase at wetherby on the same day .
of coneygree de boinville added : “he came out of that piece of work swimmingly . very , very good , all positive . galloped lovely . it’s all systems go . ”
at newbury coneygree will shoulder at least a stone more than bobs worth , the hennessy winner of 2012 , who is reported in good health after scoring over hurdles at aintree on saturday . his trainer , nicky henderson , said here : “with coneygree at the top of the weights , he won’t know what he’s carrying , it’ll be next to nothing . ”
he faded into third while coneygree beat the outsider , seventh sky , by an easy 25 lengths . “he’s put them to shame with his galloping and jumping , ” bradstock said .
the crack chaser got the better of 2015 cheltenham gold cup hero coneygree in a thrilling head - to - head battle to win the race for the third time in four years .
while coneygree had only two rivals here , one of them was southfield theatre from the stable of the champion trainer , paul nicholls , and last seen running second in a grade one at the cheltenham festival . he suffered the same fate as many other good horses who have tried to track coneygree over fences , his jumping deteriorating as he tired down the back straight .
“the little mare [ coneygree’s dam , plaid maid , also dam of 2011 hennessy gold cup winner carruthers ] cost £3 , 000 and look what she’s done . fairy tales do happen .
the wonderful thing with horses is that they know so little . coneygree didn’t know he was a novice , didn’t know he was fragile , didn’t know he wasn’t worth anything at all .
‘this little mare that only cost £3 , 000 , ’ said mrs bradstock of coneygree’s mum , plaid maid . she had been bought to give her father , who suffered from alzheimer’s late in life , a little interest in his retirement . he bred coneygree from her , and another horse of note , carruthers , which won the hennessy gold cup at newbury in 2011 .
and he went clear . not by much , nothing like 20 lengths . the winning margin was one and a half lengths and coneygree was made to fight by djakadam and road to riches . de boinville was told he did it the hard way . he said he did it the easy way . ‘he could go again , ’ he said , admiringly . in the distance , coneygree steamed happily .
coneygree ( 7 - 1 ) held on up the hill by a length and a half from djakadam ( 10 - 1 ) , with road to riches ( 8 - 1 ) two lengths away in third .
sara bradstock , wife of the winning trainer and daughter of the late lord oaksey , who bred coneygree , said : ' he ( lord oaksey ) is not here , but he ' s here in spirit .
coneygree will almost certainly carry top - weight , but bradstock feels it will be a worthwhile exercise ahead of a possible tilt at the ladbrokes trophy — formerly the hennessy gold cup — at newbury on december 2nd .
“coneygree is so deceptive . even when he is in tight , he is brilliant . it is all thanks to the bradstock family , alfie , who show jumps him and gets him to know where his feet are .
coneygree had been led up by the bradstocks’ daughter lily , whose junior riding career was curtailed by a neurological problem in her left leg following a kick from a horse . she wouldn’t have been able to walk two years ago , said sara . their son alfie , who has a showjumping background , is credited with a lot of work , too . coneygree jumped beautifully , testament to the effort alfie has put in , along with rider de boinville .
while coneygree would almost certainly carry top weight , bradstock feels it will be beneficial to give her pride and joy an early - season outing ahead of a possible tilt at the hennessy gold cup at newbury at the start of december .
novice chaser coneygree , on his fourth outing over fences , made all of the running in the feature race of the festival 2015 , the £550 , 000 betfred cheltenham gold cup , and became the first novice to win since captain christy in 1974 .
another interesting decision relates to selecting ones elite horses . i reluctantly chose faugheen and coneygree . i say reluctant , even though they were my two preferred selections atm , because i can ' t see any way to use my elite transfer for november .
she smiled . this was a different memory , without the sneer of that afternoon at plumpton . that vet said coneygree had been nodding his head . ‘of course he was , he was excited to be on a course again , ’ mrs bradstock explained .
memories of march 13 , 2015 are a bit of a blur but distinctly more pleasant as de boinville , the back - room boy with a little over 70 career winners to his name , grabbed the spotlight by winning the cheltenham gold cup on coneygree .
it was petit robin’s win that brought de boinville to the attention of trainer mark bradstock and his wife sara — the start of a link - up which led to last year’s gold cup win on coneygree when he had only three rides at the festival .
cue card continued his wonderful association with paddy brennan who rode a race full of confidence . he tracked coneygree and richard johnson , who ran a blinder on his first run for about a year , before cue card took the lead at the third last .
mark bradstock insisted there was no such thing — just the odd gold cup that was more open than in other years , and either way , the manner in which coneygree came home made him one of the bravest , if not the best , cheltenham has seen .
“that was great . really , really pleased , ” said mark bradstock , coneygree’s trainer , rather cheerier than three days previously when it emerged that he had managed to botch the horse’s entry into the king george vi chase . “i think we all need a large drink .
bradstock , who had been anxious for confirmation of coneygree’s fitness , expressed no lingering concerns on that score and expects the horse will now run in the betfair . however , she added one caveat : “we are always ground dependent and we’ll have to see what the weather does .
quite agree . i already have vautour and he is * this week . douvan just seemed to be a better option than coneygree for my nov . transfer . very sporting owners to have a go at the hennessey with 11 . 12 but that is surely an almighty task .
then , the very next day coneygree became the first novice to win the betfred cheltenham gold cup for 41 years , and in doing so earned a rating of 172 , making him champion 3 - mile - plus novice chaser and surpassing vautour’s new and short - lived record .
“coneygree is a gorgeous , gorgeous horse and it is just so tragic that sarah’s dad wasn’t here - he had the bet on wrong horse , a big bet on carruthers winning - and i think that is the downside . i am sure he was probably still watching us now .
no doubt there is a vet in the south downs area of sussex who is feeling a little sheepish this morning . the diagnosis aside — mrs bradstock felt so angry about it she threatened to get her brother , a qc , to sue — coneygree was worth something after all .
“2014 / 15 was an exciting year with huge performances from the novices in particular . i don’t remember a time when the likes of coneygree , vautour , un des sceaux and don poli all raced in the same season and there are exciting times ahead from all of these horses .
captain christy was seven when he outran the dikler in 1974 . coneygree is a year older . mrs bradstock talked about his perceived fragility — the ‘ridiculous’ long legs and a feisty temperament she believes can be expressed at the wantage stable , but would make him shrink in a big yard .
coneygree was cut from 7 - 1 to 6s for newbury’s hennessy on 28 november and bradstock is not deterred by the certainty that his horse will carry top weight against a packed field of quality chasers . “we’ve got to give it a go . others have done it . we’ll try . he’ll love the track .
it is different for humans . sara bradstock , wife of winning trainer mark , and daughter of racing legend lord oaksey , who bred coneygree , remembers every doubt , every raised eyebrow , every cruel remark on the road to one of the most remarkable victories in the history of this race . and one in particular .
he said he wasn’t good at watching races and had spent coneygree’s three miles , two furlongs and 110 yards pacing and smoking . bradstock had the air of a man who could have given alex higgins a run for his money in a smoke - off . his wife said he had nearly been arrested by security when his horse won .
lady oaksey , widow of coneygree’s breeder lord oaksey , said : “could you believe that ? i just can’t believe it and i have been asking myself what decision would john have made . as it turns out , it was a very good decision because you look at don poli and vautour and , to win this now - you dream .
coneygree , bred by bradstock’s father , the late lord oaksey , went out in front over the first two fences , just as de boinville had wanted . he dropped last year’s winner lord windermere and the tempo he wound up going out on the back stretch for a second time deconstructed bradstock’s early memory of the young horse with the “ridiculously long legs” .
there is something so marvellous about a front - runner . it is the honesty , for a start . everything is out there . it is why the public warmed to paula radcliffe . by the time coneygree came up the hill , any onlooker not financially involved will have been yearning for him to hold on . doubly so if they knew his history
nico de boinville , coneygree’s regular rider , made a significant sacrifice to partner him in the workout , as he became stuck in traffic on the m6 afterwards and missed a winning ride in the opening race here . “i was tearing out what little hair i’ve got left , ” he said , having arrived in time to ride the winner of the third .
coneygree remains 3 - 1 second favourite for the betfair , behind only last year’s winner , cue card . if he were to miss the haydock race for any reason , the following week’s hennessy would be another obvious target , though the bradstocks would rather not ask him to carry top weight in a big - field handicap for his return from a year off .
“people were saying to me after newbury , would nico [ de boinville , coneygree’s jockey – richard johnson rode the horse at newbury to win the denman chase ] get the ride back , and of course he would . he rides this horse beautifully . i think he’ll be a great jockey . he just knows his balance and the gallop he can go . ”
when asked whether there would be celebrations tonight or whether it would be back to work as normal , she said : “a little bit back to work because my favourite person , carruthers [ coneygree’s half - brother ] , runs tomorrow [ in the betfred midlands grand national ] , so i couldn’t let him down . i might not be at my best , however ! ”
for there to be 41 years between novice victories at the gold cup — the last one was captain christy —suggests this was a win steeped in horse sense . the bradstocks knew coneygree’s injuries made it more experienced than the average novice , and chose to run it here rather than in wednesday’s rsa chase . the wet weather , and the result it helped produce , vindicated the call .
connections of coneygree appeared thoroughly pleased with their morning’s work after last year’s gold cup winner had a spin round haydock in preparation for his return to action . a hock injury has kept the nine - year - old from public view for just over a year but there was nothing in wednesday’s racecourse gallop to dissuade his handlers from sending him back to the merseyside track a week on saturday for the betfair chase .
michael o’leary , who owns road to riches , said : “the couple of drops of rain might have cost us , because we were essentially outstayed , but he’s run a brilliant race . bryan cooper gave our horse a superb ride , but coneygree must be some horse to go and do that . to be fair we stayed with him until the end , and it seems a new order is taking over .
the prospects of that horse – coneygree – seizing a gold cup field from the start and steadfastly refusing to let it go were never more remote than when the trainer’s wife sara bradstock first caught sight of the bay’s mother , about 10 years ago . “this tiny little mare that we bought for nothing , who people thought was a joke , ” was how she recalled that horse , plaid maid , last night .
he is now the highest rated novice chaser ever in the anglo - irish jumps classifications although amazingly only by a pound from the hugely talented vautour . his next task is again to out - do denman who won his first hennessy cognac gold cup off a mark of 161 . subsequently he won his second off 174 . coneygree still has some improving to do before we can truly say he was the equal of denman .
he was the horse that could , overcoming newness , shyness and an ability to pick up the strangest injuries to beat a field that included tony mccoy on his last gold cup ride , carlingford lough . to be fair , not even the love of the common people was present for mccoy’s horse , which went off at 14 - 1 and never contested , and some will say that coneygree’s victory was evidence of a poor field .
looks like vatour is the main ( 60 pt ) interest of both of us , ( and thousands of other stable star managers ) , this week . the main advantage of coneygree atm over douvan is the fact that one doesn ' t need to win a bonus race to score a decent number of points . hopefully it seems that his pricked hoof is now fine . certainly wouldn ' t surprise me if he echos denman ' s hennessy performance .
the only unexpected drama associated with the race took the form of a wholly unnecessary intervention by the british horseracing authority , which prevented coneygree and other runners here from having remembrance sunday poppies sprayed on their hindquarters , an idea that had the support of the racecourse , race sponsors , owners and trainers . the sport’s ruling body would permit only a poppy outline to be brushed into each horse’s hair , the result being visible only to the most sharp - eyed racegoers .
dell ' arca only raced twice over fences and as he didn ' t win he remains a novice . the second of those efforts was a length - and - a - half defeat by coneygree in a grade 2 novice at newbury , form which doesn ' t look too shabby now ! david pipe ' s gelding reverted to hurdles and ran with credit in handicap company after that and i can see him developing into a top novice in 2015 - 16 .
any fears that last season’s extraordinary cheltenham gold cup - winning performance might have taken its toll on coneygree were thoroughly dispelled when the eight - year - old hacked up on his first run for eight months . he remains unbeaten over fences and it is slightly surprising , after watching him here , to reflect that he is not favourite for either of the races known to be in his sights this winter , the hennessy in three weeks and the gold cup in march .
who is unbeaten as a chaser and ended the season on 172 after his pillar to post victory in the betfred cheltenham gold cup . coneygree has only ever contested pattern races as a chaser winning first at newbury where he recorded a 147 performance , thus replicating his hurdle rating . it was on to kempton next where in the grade 1 kauto star feltham stakes he never saw another horse and won by 40 lengths in a very creditable time considering his jockey spent the last half a furlong waving to the crowd .
these were not the only impressive novice chase performances however , as earlier in a memorable cheltenham festival a further willie mullins - trained chaser had earned a mark which would see him top a novice chasing division , this time in the 2 - mile chasing category . un de sceaux’s scintillating arkle success earned him a rating of 168 , only 1lb behind sprinter sacre’s old record , making him at that time the second - highest rated novice chaser of all time , until the exploits of vautour and coneygree knocked him down that pecking order .
the stables have been dealt a heavy blow by that medical verdict . provincial plumpton’s attempts to attract good novices means they pay a £60 , 000 bonus to any trainer whose horse wins there and goes on to triumph at the cheltenham festival – money badly needed by the bradstocks , who raced the horse without problems within a couple of weeks . a winning spree started there . they have always felt that coneygree is their best horse – an even greater prospect than his half - brother carruthers , who won the hennessy gold cup at newbury in 2011 .
“like all racing enthusiasts , i am already looking forward to next season given the high level of performances that we recorded over the last twelve months . if don cossack ( 175 ) , coneygree ( 172 ) , vautour ( 171 ) , djakadam ( 170 ) , road to riches ( 168 ) and don poli ( 163 ) all turn up fit and well at cheltenham gold cup next march what a race it will be . who is to say that don poli will not improve past them all and have become the best anglo - irish chaser this time next year ?
winning jockey : nico de boinville background : conditional rider based with nicky henderson . former amateur , who rode successfully in point - to - points and has also ridden three winners on the flat . competed for britain in the world amateur riders’ championships . first winner under rules : barbers shop , fakenham , february 17 , 2012 cheltenham festival wins ( 2 ) : betfred cheltenham gold cup ( 2015 coneygree ) , coral cup ( 2014 whisper ) wins ( 2008 / 09 - 2013 / 14 ) : 0 ; 0 ; 0 ; 2 ; 13 ; 27 wins this season : 31
winning trainer : mark fitzherbert bradstock born : november 5 , 1957 based : old manor stables , letcombe bassett , wantage , oxon date of first trainer’s licence : 1988 / 89 - formerly five years as assistant to fulke walwyn . married to sara lawrence , daughter of lord oaksey . cheltenham festival winners ( 2 ) : betfred cheltenham gold cup ( 2015 coneygree ) , jewson novices’ handicap chase ( 2005 king harald ) number of winners ( 2002 / 03 - 2013 / 14 ) : 7 ; 9 ; 5 ; 2 ; 2 ; 8 ; 4 ; 4 ; 3 ; 3 ; 7 ; 1 wins this season : 6
flintham is closely related to those two superstars carruthers and coneygree and has demonstrated some of their sheer stubbornness this term . the mark bradstock trained 7 year old was a very useful novice hurdler last term winning at chepstow , ascot and ffos las before struggling at aintree and pulling up in a grade 1 contest won by thistlecrack in april . flintham also pulled up on his novice chase debut at exeter in early november and reverted to hurdles a month later at cheltenham , finishing 28 lengths 11 th of 13 behind so fine . however , he was back to his dogged best at warwick in january , putting up a typically gutsy display to repel pobbles bay by ¾ of a length .
* reached the pinnacle of the sport when a 20 / 1 winner of the betfred cheltenham gold cup in march , 2014 . * never looked like retaining his crown in this year’s renewal won by coneygree , eventually being pulled up before the second last . * had shaped well in a pair of grade one contests earlier this season , coming home third in both the john durkan memorial chase at punchestown in december and the irish hennessy gold cup at leopardstown in february . * bidding to become only the third horse to win the cheltenham gold cup and crabbie’s grand national , following on from golden miller and l’escargot . race record : starts : 20 ; wins : 6 ; 2nd : 3 ; 3rd : 3 ; win & place prize money : £486 , 413
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the eight - year - old , trained by mark bradstock and ridden by nico de boinville , took the blue riband prize of steeplechasing on only his fourth race over fences .
the success fully vindicated the decision to bypass the rsa chase earlier in the week and run in the gold cup instead .
de boinville said : ' it ' s the best feeling ever , i ' m lost for words .
' i never thought they shouldn ' t have run in this , it was a great plan .
' the weather gods were looking down on us and the ground was ideal .
' he ' s so deceptive , even when he gets in tight he ' s brilliant , it ' s all thanks to the bradstock family , it ' s a great family effort .
' i must thank the owners and the bradstocks for keeping the faith in me . these horses only come once in a lifetime . '
' i ' d been saying to people , when we win the gold cup we ' ll win the lottery , it ' s that amazing . '
' it ' s only his fourth run over fences , but he had so much time off and he ' s wise in his own way . '
lady oaksey said : ' i ' ve been asking myself what decision would john ( oaksey ) have made ? as it turned out , it was a very good decision after looking at vautour and don poli ( in the novice chases ) .
' to win this now - you dream and it ' s absolutely amazing . '
mrs bradstock added : ' all the people quoted stats at us , but this horse knows how to jump and how to gallop and he showed them .
' we were forecast real rain , which made the decision for us , and it was an open gold cup .
' it ' s so unbelievable , i ' ve been in the yard from 6am until 10pm and it ' s all for this .
' all the big yards spend telephone numbers on horses and our mare cost £3 , 000 .
' people were asking after newbury ( when richard johnson rode in the denman chase ) if nico would get the ride back , but of course he would - he rides him beautifully , he ' ll be a great jockey .
the winning trainer said : ' i ' m numb , it ' s wonderful . it won ' t sink in for a while , but it ' s great .
' we ' ve done it before in smaller races and we ' ll still keep doing it , but it ' s fantastic to do it on the big stage .
' i can ' t remember where i watched it as i ' m not very good at watching races .
' the decision was very tricky because the weather forecast was so up and down and obviously we were liaising very closely with simon claisse ( clerk of the course ) and walking the course . but we made the right decision .
' he ' s a gorgeous horse and it ' s so tragic that sara ' s dad ( lord oaksey ) wasn ' t here today to see it . '
rich ricci , owner of the willie mullins - trained djakadam , said : ' he ' s run a stormer , i thought we had him but fair play to the winner , to run in this race as a novice and to do that from the front was spectacular .
' he ' ll be back next year . we ' ve had a great week . '
his rider ruby walsh said : ' he ' s run a blinder . he made a few little jumping errors , but he ' s run a blinder for a six - year - old .
mullins said : ' we had a fantastic run and i was just commending the winner ' s brave decision to run in the gold cup . it paid off and the winner did it the hard way in front .
' i was delighted with my horse . he ran well . he jumped great and got a good position . i don ' t have any excuses and ruby doesn ' t either .
' our fellow is only a six - year - old and the winner ' s an eight - year - old . in those conditions , when stamina comes to the fore , age will always beat youth . we ' ll go on to punchestown . '
noel meade said of road to riches : ' he ran a great race . we ' re delighted and disappointed . what other way can you be ?
' we thought we had a chance at the last . it ' s possible the ground was a disadvantage to us . maybe it wasn ' t , but we think it might have been . '
richie mclernon , rider of fourth home holywell , said : ' he stays all day and you can ' t ask any more . he gave me his all today . '
his trainer jonjo o ' neill said : ' we ' re delighted with our little horse . it was a brilliant race really .
' we had to put a lot of effort in with his jumping . he ' d be better on better ground , but today the best horse won .
' our horse ran a blinder and we ' re thrilled to bits with him .
' the winner is a fantastic horse and they couldn ' t catch him . '
paul nicholls , trainer of the vanquished favourite silviniaco conti , who was seventh , said : ' noel ( fehily ) is not really sure . my view is that the ground might have been deep enough for him . it was a bit more testing than we thought .
' watching that i suppose he is better on a flatter track on better ground . if he ' s fresh and well we ' ll probably head to aintree with him now . '
tony mccoy was ninth on carlingford lough in what was his final ride in the gold cup before retirement .
the 19 - times champion said : ' i knew when we got here this morning we were in trouble . he ' s a horse that likes good ground and for a horse that ' s slow but has a bit of speed at the end of his race , he doesn ' t like it when it turns into a drag . '
paying tribute to the winner , mccoy said : ' fair do ' s to the bradstocks for running him . it was an unbelievable performance from a novice chaser .
' he got them at it early and stuck at it well . all credit to them . it ' s fantastic . '
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the 2nd lord oaksey , who has died aged 83 , was one of the most prominent and best - loved figures in the world of horse racing for more than 40 years , as an amateur jockey and as a telegraph journalist and television commentator .
oaksey was a consummate professional . on one of the 11 occasions in which he rode in the grand national , he was thrown from his mount and knocked unconscious . before being carted off on a stretcher , he insisted on filing his copy to the sunday telegraph .
on television , he proved to be a natural broadcaster . making no attempt to play up to the camera , he simply projected the charm , amiability and self - deprecation that were such features of his character as a man . while channel 4’s betting pundit john mccririck invariably referred to him on air as “the noble lord” , from oaksey himself there was never a trace of condescension .
for the punter who had just dropped £200 on the previous race , the sight on screen of oaksey in his trusty trilby somehow conveyed the impression that it was all part of life’s rich tapestry — and that tomorrow was another day .
oaksey , who inherited two baronies on the death of his father in 1971 , rode as mr john lawrence . and although he never managed to win a grand national , he was a highly successful amateur rider for more than 20 years until injuries sustained in a fall at folkestone in april 1975 forced him into retirement .
he had ridden more than 200 winners , of which 20 were on the flat , and had been champion amateur under national hunt rules in 1957 - 58 . his first success under rules — there were also a few in point - to - points — came on pyrene in a hunter chase at sandown park in march 1956 ; and two years later , by which time his riding allowance had been cut to 3lb , he gained his first big success when flaming east won the imperial cup , also at sandown .
shortly before that oaksey had begun what was to be a highly successful partnership with the staying chaser taxidermist when they were runners - up in the kim muir chase at the cheltenham festival . in april 1958 taxidermist and oaksey beat their more favoured stablemate mandarin in the second running of the whitbread gold cup at sandown ; and that november , taxidermist , again ridden by oaksey , produced an amazing turn of foot to pass four horses after the final fence in the hennessy gold cup , then run at cheltenham , to win by a very short head from kerstin .
at the following year’s cheltenham festival , oaksey enjoyed his first festival win when sabaria , whose trainer bob turnell was the first man for whom oaksey regularly rode out , won the four - mile national hunt chase .
other winners at the festival were on jimmy scot and black baize , in 1966 and 1971 respectively , while bullocks horn landed the foxhunters’ chase in 1973 . bullocks horn also won the foxhunters’ at liverpool , a race in which oaksey had been successful seven years earlier on subaltern .
he was also first past the post in the 1974 whitbread , on proud tarquin , but this time there was no happy ending . proud tarquin had jinked to his left as he landed over the final fence and the marginal interference he thus caused to the dikler persuaded the stewards that the placings of the pair should be reversed .
oaksey was very aware of the risks run by jump jockeys , some of whom sustain injuries in falls which bring their careers to a premature end , and often when they are ill - prepared financially for such an eventuality .
in the 1963 - 64 season tim brookshaw and paddy farrell suffered such misfortune in falls at liverpool . both men broke their backs , prompting the establishment of the farrell - brookshaw fund , with which oaksey was much involved . it was the forerunner of the injured national hunt jockeys’ fund , which later embraced all professional riders under the banner of the injured jockeys fund ( ijf ) .
for more than four decades this fund has provided a lifeline for riders who have fallen on hard times , and oaksey , who began as one of the trustees and later became chairman , never stopped working for it and its beneficiaries . for his services to the fund he was appointed obe in 1985 .
indeed , it was virtually impossible to find a good cause in racing in which oaksey was not involved . such was his kindness and consideration that he found it almost impossible to say no when someone came to him for advice or assistance .
throughout his riding career , and while he worked with the ijf , oaksey was also writing full - time for the daily telegraph , the sunday telegraph and horse and hound . often he would describe races in which he had ridden . there was , for example , the celebrated piece he wrote , minutes after the race , when it had seemed as though he would win the 1963 grand national on carrickbeg — “and then ayala’s head appeared like nemesis at my knee” .
he had joined the daily telegraph in 1957 as assistant to lt - cdr bwr ( “bill” ) curling — then the paper’s senior racing correspondent under the hotspur byline — and soon started writing his own column as “marlborough” . in no time his different vantage point — from the backs of the horses he had been riding — made his copy compulsory reading for the many people who came to enjoy the fluency and flair of his prose .
two years after joining the daily telegraph he became “audax” in horse and hound , a role he was to fulfil for almost 30 years . he retired as audax in 1988 , the same year in which he ended 28 years with the sunday telegraph , for which he had written since its launch in 1960 . he estimated that , at his most prolific , he had been producing some 6 , 000 words a week .
his career in television was equally impressive . he worked for itv’s world of sport from 1970 , and when racing coverage was transferred to channel 4 in 1986 , he became a regular member of that commentary team as well .
while the vast majority of viewers loved oaksey’s contributions , he was not famous for his skill as a tipster . he once received the following letter from an aggrieved punter : “dear bastard , i am writing to tell you that you could not tip more rubbish if channel 4 bought you a forklift truck . ”
as well as producing a section of the history of steeplechasing , oaksey wrote a biography of mill reef , his favourite flat horse , about which he also produced the script for a film called something to brighten the morning . an anthology of his horse and hound articles was called oaksey on racing ; and he was involved in the extremely entertaining flings over fences , a biography of his great friend gay kindersley .
john geoffrey tristram lawrence was born on march 21 1929 , the only son of the 1st lord oaksey and 3rd lord trevethin and his wife marjorie , daughter of commander charles robinson , rn .
geoffrey lawrence , who was created the 1st lord oaksey in 1947 and succeeded his brother as lord trevethin in 1959 , had been for many years a leading light in the legal profession , and was known for his impartial conduct of the international tribunal which tried war criminals at nuremberg in 1945 ; he had become a high court judge , lord justice of appeal and a lord of appeal in ordinary .
as a young boy , john learned to ride on an old pony called mince pie , who had “a deeply embarrassing habit of farting the moment she saw a horse larger than her” . his autobiography would later be entitled mince pie for starters ( 2003 ) .
after attending eton ( where he was captain of boxing ) , he did national service with the 9th queen’s royal lancers , then read ppe at new college , oxford . from there he went on to yale law school , but racing was his first love , and the prospect of starting out in the law on a tiny salary was not appealing . so when , in 1956 , a chance encounter with bill curling led to an offer to become curling’s assistant at the daily telegraph , john leapt at the opportunity .
he was elected racing journalist of the year in 1968 and an honorary member of the jockey club in 2001 . his homebred chaser carruthers won last year’s hennessy gold cup .
in 1959 he married sir john betjeman’s former secretary , victoria ( “tory” ) dennistoun , whose father john ( ”ginger” ) dennistoun was a shrewd trainer of a small mixed string near wantage .
the marriage broke up in unhappily public fashion in the mid - 1980s , when lady oaksey left her husband for the artist maggi hambling .
john oaksey married secondly , in 1988 , “chicky” crocker ( née hunter ) , who survives him with the two children of his first marriage : patrick lawrence , qc , who was born in 1960 and succeeds to the baronies , and sara , a former jockey who married the trainer mark bradstock .
what brutality there is about the way that sport always moves on , finding new winners with such blatant disregard for sentiment and the sensibilities of those who have put their lives into sustaining it .
ap mccoy learnt that yesterday . it was to have been cheltenham’s valediction for him but instead a new name was ready , with a story the likes of which we have not known for 40 years .
the champion jockey had made no secret of his yearning for a gold cup blue riband to propel him on his way towards retirement – “it’s all about the gold cup , always has been , ” he said as this day finally dawned – but some upstaging it turned out to be . the roars echoing in his ears as he drove carlingford lough up the incline , the mist - shrouded cleeve hill behind his back , were for the first novice to win this race since captain christy in 1974 ; a horse which had only run over fences three times before yesterday and which had appeared here against the initial expectation of the stable who have coaxed something extraordinary out of his fragile state .
those are the kinds of misconceptions which have been attached since . when bradstock and her husband , mark , sought to try him over fences last november after a pelvic injury which had taken two years to repair , a course veterinary surgeon at plumpton told them – to their own despair and indignation – that he was lame and would not be permitted run . “i said : ‘it’s not any old horse that you are fucking about with , ’” bradstock related . “the vet told us : ‘he’s had two years off . he’s not worth anything . ’” that assessment was shot to pieces last night .
even in these past few weeks there have been niggles and doubts . a pulled muscle at the top of the eight - year - old’s leg prevented him running in the gold cup trial . as late as tuesday there were thoughts of keeping him in the company of other novices in the festival’s rsa chase instead . ( horses are novices until the end of the season in which they first win a hurdle or chase . )
but the gold cup was too much to resist and when the overnight rain persisted well into yesterday morning they were , as jockey nico de boinville put it last night , “more certain” that they could be on to something here on the soft ground . how right the jockey , a professional for just over a year , was .
silviniaco conti , who was sent off favourite to win the race at the third time of asking , had nothing left by the final downhill run and neither did many clouds , fancied more after the rain had drenched the turf . mccoy was halfway back after losing a length at the fence before the second ditch and eighth as they turned for home . it was a lost cause as he faded into ninth .
mark bradstock last night talked of the importance to the small oxfordshire stables of its loyalty to de boinville , selected to ride this horse when bigger operations might have sought bigger names for such an attractive proposition . “it’s all about the work he does , coming in whenever we ask him , all the work he does with the other horses as well , ” he said of de boinville . “it was never an option that anyone else would ride . we don’t behave like that . ”
he was stating the philosophy behind a triumph of the underdog , in every way . the patronising idea which has prevailed among some in racing that the bradstock horses would be better if trained at a bigger , more sophisticated yard was dispensed with in the moment de boinville rode home ahead of a field of monumental rivals .
even in midweek , the bradstocks discovered what appeared to be a bizarre protest against the entry of their novice in this race . someone hacked into the horse’s gold cup registration with the weatherby’s central administration system , changing de boinville’s name for that of the jockey joe cornwall . police are investigating .
when dusk began to draw in , mccoy had a last hurrah of sorts , in the last race which had been named the ap mccoy grand annual handicap chase in his honour . the course which has been such an indomitable foe for him did not allow him a sentimental win , though . his mount , ned buntline , finished fourth .
there had been a moment , early in the day’s first race , when mccoy and his old rival ruby walsh rode saddle to saddle , and the old times prevailed . the new force of nature announced his arrival less than two hours later . it was in the blink of an eye that the world moved on .
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megalocytivirus is one of five genera of viruses within the family iridoviridae and one of three genera within this family which infect teleost fishes , along with lymphocystivirus and ranasvirus .

the megalocytiviruses are an emerging group of closely related dsdna viruses which cause systemic infections in a wide variety of wild and cultured fresh and saltwater fishes .

megalocytivirus outbreaks are of considerable economic importance in aquaculture , as epizootics can result in moderate fish loss or mass mortality events of cultured fishes .

megalocytivirus

► first proteomics analysis of an rsiv - type megalocytivirus . ► a total of 49 viral proteins were identified . ► a total of 33 cellular proteins were first revealed in megalocytivirus . ► a virus - inducible stress protein was first characterized as an envelope protein .
transmission of megalocytivirus from infected broodstock to eggs and sperm ( i . e . , vertical transmission ) has not been proven to date .
currently there are no effective treatments for most viral infections of fish , including those caused by megalocytivirus . depopulation followed by disinfection is recommended .
before further study of p247 and p523 , we examined whether these two proteins were actually expressed by megalocytivirus during infection . for this purpose , pbl from megalocytivirus - infected turbot were subjected to immunofluorescence analysis with antibodies against recombinant p247 and p523 . the results showed that for both p247 and p523 detections , fluorescence was observed in the pbl from megalocytivirus - infected fish but not in the pbl from the uninfected control fish (
vital particles ( megalocytivirus , identified with arrows ) seen within the posterior kidney of a variable platyfish ( x . variatus ) using electron microscopy .
the determination of the genome of trbiv will provide useful information for comparative study of megalocytivirus and developing strategies to control outbreaks of trbiv - induced disease .
chinchar v . g . ( 2011 ) megalocytivirus . in : tidona c . , darai g . ( eds ) the springer index of viruses . springer , new york , ny
the first megalocytivirus discovered in a wild north american fish was recently described from the threespine stickleback ( gasterosteus aculeatus , family gasterosteidae ) in canada , where outbreaks in 2007–2008 resulted in low mortality . dna studies demonstrate that the cause of this outbreak is yet another unique strain of the megalocytivirus ( waltzek et al . 2010 ) , and is not one of the three types mentioned above .
no . although , as described previously , megalocytivirus infections have been associated with significant mortalities within populations—sometimes as high as 100 % —low - level infections have been seen with lower mortality rates in some populations ( yanong , unpublished data ) . several studies using highly sensitive molecular detection methods have demonstrated that clinically healthy fish may test positive for megalocytivirus . it is unknown whether these fish can serve as reservoirs for future disease outbreaks .
h & e stain . posterior kidney from a variable platyfish ( xiphophorus variatus ) with a megalocytivirus infection . note large , bluish / purple ( basophilic ) cells , identified with arrows , which are filled with viral particles .
turbot administered with psip247 ( a ) , psip523 ( b ) , or psicr ( control ) were infected with megalocytivirus , and the expression of 119 viral genes in the spleen was determined by quantitative real time rt - pcr .
effect of sirna on viral gene expression . turbot were administered with psip247 , psip523 , psicr , and pbs and challenged with megalocytivirus rbiv - c1 as above . at 5 days post - challenge , spleen was taken under aseptic condition and used for total rna extraction as described above . the expression of the 119 genes of megalocytivirus rbiv - c1 was then determined by qrt - pcr as above with specific primers [ 20 ] . the experiment was performed three times .
go , j . and r . whittington . 2006 . experimental transmission and virulence of a megalocytivirus ( family iridoviridae ) of dwarf gourami ( colisa lalia ) from asia in murray cod ( maccullochella peelii peelii ) in australia . aquaculture 258 : 140–149 .
ranavirus , and megalocytivirus . type species of the family include invertebrate iridescent virus 6 ( iridovirus ) , which infects insects ; lymphocystis disease virus 1 ( lymphocystivirus ) , which infects fish ; and frog virus 3 ( ranavirus ) , which infects amphibians .
kim , w . , m . oh , j . kim , d . kim , c . jeon , j . kim . 2010 . detection of megalocytivirus from imported tropical ornamental fish , paradise fish macropodus opercularis . diseases of aquatic organisms 90 : 235–239 .
turbot vaccinated with pcn3 , pcn247 , pcn523 , and pbs ( control ) were challenged with megalocytivirus and monitored daily for survival . significance between the survivals of the vaccinated fish and the control fish was determined with logrank test . * * p < 0 . 01 .
finally , work with a fish health professional for an accurate diagnosis of any disease problems , including suspected megalocytivirus infections , and for recommendations on management and prevention . maintaining a good working relationship with a fish health professional is recommended for all businesses raising or selling live aquatic products .
good husbandry and biosecurity are important , as is establishment of a good working relationship with a fish health professional and / or diagnostic laboratory . if you suspect you may have fish with a megalocytivirus infection , sampling and special tests will be necessary . contact a fish health professional for assistance .
lee , n . s . , j . w . do , j . w . park , and y . c . kim . 2009 . characterization of virus distribution in rock bream ( oplegnathus fasciatus ; temminck and schlegel ) infected with megalocytivirus . journal of comparative pathology 141 : 63–69 .
in conclusion , in this study we identified two megalocytivirus proteins , p247 and p523 , which in the form of dna vaccines elicit effective protective immunity . our results indicate production of cytotoxic and memory immune cells and thus an involvement of specific cellular defense in p247 - and p523 - vaccianted fish , which add insights to the immune mechanism of dna vaccines in teleost . in addition , we demonstrate that p247 and p523 play fundamental roles essential to viral replication , which promotes our understanding of the infection of megalocytivirus and suggests for the first time a link between the protectivity of viral immunogens and their biological significance in viral replication .
in a preliminary screening study , in order to identify megalocytivirus genes with immunoprotective potential , we constructed 22 dna vaccine plasmids based on 22 different genes of megalocytivirus rbiv - c1 . the protective effect of these vaccines was examined in a turbot model . the results showed that fish vaccinated with two of the vaccine plasmids , pcn247 and pcn523 , exhibited high survival rates ( over 60 % ) . pcn247 and pcn523 were constructed based on the orf107 and orf86 , respectively , of megalocytivirus rbiv - c1 . orf107 encodes a putative nuclear antigen of 247 amino acid residues ( named p247 ) , while orf86 encodes a hypothetical protein of 523 amino acid residues ( named p523 ) with no known function or conserved domain structure . the ability of pcn247 and pcn523 to express the vaccine genes in fish cells was verified by ifa assay , which showed that following transfection into gf cells ( a fish cell line ) , pcn247 and pcn523 , but not the control plasmid pcn3 , were able to express the encoded vaccine proteins in the transfectants (
yes . megalocytivirus infections in fish can cause disease signs that are similar to many other infectious diseases , especially those caused by bacteria or other viruses . they may also resemble disease signs caused by environmental toxins or poor water quality . a thorough fish disease investigation is required to confirm the presence of megalocytovirus infection and determine whether other factors are contributing to the disease outbreak .
effect of sirna on viral replication . turbot were administered with psip247 , psip523 , psicr , and pbs and challenged with megalocytivirus rbiv - c1 as above . at 3 days and 5 days post - challenge , spleen was taken under aseptic conditions and examined for viral load by absolute quantitative real time pcr as reported previously [ 7 ] . the experiment was performed three times .
] . as the disease was important to turbot culture , we have analyzed and molecularly characterized the complete genome of trbiv . we also performed phylogenetic analysis of selected trbiv proteins compared with those of other iridoviruses and discussed the taxonomic position of trbiv . the determination of whole genome of trbiv will provide useful information for comparative study of megalocytivirus and developing strategies to control outbreaks of trbiv - induced disease .
to examine the protective efficacy of pcn247 and pcn523 , the vaccinated fish were challenged with megalocytivirus at one month post - vaccination and monitored for mortality and for viral replication in spleen at 3 days and 5 days post - viral challenge . the results showed that , compared to fish vaccinated with pcn3 and pbs , fish vaccinated with pcn247 and pcn523 exhibited significantly reduced viral loads at both time points (
turbot administered with pbs ( control ) , psip247 , psip523 , or psicr were infected with megalocytivirus , and the amount of virus in spleen was determined at 3 days ( a ) and 5 days ( b ) after infection . data are expressed as the mean ± se ( n = 3 ) . n , the number of times the experiment was performed . * * p < 0 . 01 .
there are currently three well - described viruses within the megalocytivirus genus , including infectious spleen and kidney necrosis virus ( isknv ) , red sea bream iridovirus ( rsiv ) , turbot reddish body iridovirus ( trbiv ) , or turbot iridiovirus . isknv and closely related viral strains have caused disease in numerous species of freshwater and marine fish , including grouper , gourami , cichlid , red sea bream , angelfish , sea bass , and lamprey . rsiv was first discovered in the early 1990s in japan and has been reported in asian marine finfish . trbiv mainly affects asian flounder species . megalocytivirus infections have been reported in several common ornamental fish , including banggai cardinalfish ( pterapogon kauderni ) , freshwater angelfish ( pterophyllum scalare ) , other freshwater cichlids , sailfin mollies ( poecilia latipinna ) , other common live - bearers , and numerous gourami species .
to examine the effect of p247 and p523 knockdown on viral replication , turbot administered with psip247 , psip523 , psicr , or pbs were infected with megalocytivirus , and the viral load in spleen was determined at 3 days and 5 days post - infection . the results showed that the presence of psip247 and psip523 significantly reduced viral numbers at both time points , whereas the presence of psicr had no apparent effect on viral replication (
turbot were vaccinated with pcn247 , pcn523 , pcn3 , or pbs ( control ) and challenged with megalocytivirus at one month post - vaccination . viral loads in spleen were determined at 3 days ( a ) and 5 days ( b ) post - challenge . data are shown as means ± se ( n = 3 ) . n , the number of times the experiment was performed . * * p < 0 . 01 .
our work is the first to show the role of a dominant negative inhibitor of the host ilk from isknv ( an iridovirus ) . mechanistically , the viral orf119l directly binds to the host pinch , attenuates the host pinch - ilk interaction , and thus impairs ilk signaling . intriguingly , orf119l - overexpressing zebrafish embryos and isknv - infected mandarin fish develop similar disordered sarcomeric z disks in cardiomyocytes . these findings provide a novel mechanism for megalocytivirus pathogenesis .
the trbiv genome contained a double - stranded dna consisting of 110 , 104 bp , with a g + c content of 55 % . among the sequenced megalocytivirus , the size of trbiv genome was the smallest , comparing with that of isknv ( 111 , 362 bp ) , lyciv ( 111 , 760 bp ) , rbiv ( 112 , 080 bp ) , rsiv ( 112 , 414 bp ) and osgiv ( 112 , 636 bp ) [
) . based on these results , the protection rates , in terms of rps , induced by pcn247 and pcn523 were 75 % and 63 % respectively with pbs as a control . megalocytivirus rbiv - c1 was detected in the kidney , spleen , and liver of dying fish , which confirmed cause of death by viral infection . comparable protection rates ( 70 % and 65 % for pcn247 and pcn523 respectively ) were obtained from the repeat vaccination trial .
in summary , the present study provided the complete genome sequence of trbiv . the genomic organization , gene content , and amino acid composition of trbiv are very similar to those of isknv , osgiv and rbiv . dot plot analyses and phylogenetic trees suggested that trbiv belongs to the genus megalocytivirus in the family iridoviridae . the detailed viral genome analysis will provide valuable information to serve as the genetic basis for future studies and to control iridovirus disease in cultured fish .
fish infected with megalocytivirus develop clinical signs of disease that are non - specific , meaning that they are similar to clinical signs observed with many other diseases . these include lethargy , loss of appetite , darkening , abnormal swimming ( including spinning ) or position in the water , increased respiration , distended body cavity ( coelomic distension ) , ulceration , hemorrhages ( including pinpoint hemorrhages on the skin and gills ) , pale gills / anemia , fin erosion , white feces , and heavy mortalities .
p247 and p523 knockdown . so far our results indicate that p247 and p523 , in the form of dna vaccine , induced protective immunity against megalocytivirus . based on these results , we hypothesized that p247 and p523 , whose functionalities as viral components were entirely unknown , may possibly be essential factors in viral replication . to investigate this hypothesis , we examined the effect of p247 and p523 knockdown on megalocytivirus infection . for this purpose , the plasmids psip247 and psip523 were constructed , which were designed to express in vivo p247 - and p523 - specific sirna respectively . as a control , the plasmid psicr was also created , which expresses a nonspecific sirna . to examine the interfering efficiency of the sirna , turbot administered with or without psip247 , psip523 , or psicr were infected with megalocytivirus , and the expression of p247 and p523 was determined by qrt - pcr at 5 days post - infection . the results showed that the expression of p247 in psi247 - admisnitered fish was significantly ( p < 0 . 01 ) reduced to the level of 54 % of that in the control fish . likewise , the expression level of p523 in psi523 - admisnitered fish was significantly ( p < 0 . 01 ) reduced to 41 % of that in the control fish . in contrast , the expression levels of p247 and p523 in psicr - administered fish were comparable to those in the control fish . these results indicate that psip247 and psip523 effectively reduced the expressions of p247 and p523 respectively .
pbl from turbot vaccinated with or without ( control ) pcn247 , pcn523 , or pcn3 were used as effector cells , while pbl from megalocytivirus - infected turbot were used as target cells . the effector and target cells were mixed and incubated for 24 h . the cytotoxicity of the effector cells was determined by lactate dehydrogenase assay . data are presented as means ± se ( n = 3 ) . n , the number of times the experiment was performed . * * p < 0 . 01 .
megalocytiviruses have three main genotypes , which are represented by isknv , rsiv , and trbiv . to date , the virion - associated proteins of rsiv and trbiv are still unknown . the spotted knifejaw iridovirus ( skiv ) is a newly characterized rsiv - type megalocytivirus . in this study , the virion - associated proteins of skiv were identified by systemic one - dimensional gel electrophoresis - based proteomic approaches . a total of 49 viral proteins and 33 cellular proteins were associated with the skiv virions by lc ms / ms , including 18 highly abundant structural proteins that were detected by maldi tof / tof - ms . one highly abundant structural protein of interest was identified as the virus - inducible stress protein ( visp ) and further characterized as an envelope protein . however , knockdown of mvisp by sirna method showed no effect in virion production . the current study is the first to present detailed information on the virion - associated proteins of an rsiv - type megalocytivirus and to identify a novel cellular envelope protein of this virus .
in conclusion , we report the identification of 38 viral proteins in isknv virions based on four different proteomic approaches . the functional protein map of isknv has been primarily established , and this is the first comprehensive proteome study of a megalocytivirus that will help promote the progress of research on isknv and other megalocytiviruses . the identification of proteins incorporated into isknv particles and classification of the localization of viral proteins in virions are key milestones for further fundamental and applied research on this virus and for the development of vaccine candidates .
as with other viral diseases , environmental and procedural stressors will weaken the immune systems of fish and therefore can increase susceptibility to infectious diseases including megalocytivirus . good husbandry may help reduce infection rates and losses ( for florida producers , see
aquaculture best management practices manual 2015
available at : urltoken ) . warmer temperatures appear to facilitate infection and disease since many past cases seen in florida occurred during the heat of the summer and early fall or after temperature spikes occurred in indoor recirculating systems ( yanong and terrell 2003 ) .
turbot were vaccinated with or without ( control ) pcn247 , pcn523 , or pcn3 and challenged with megalocytivirus . at 24 h post - challenge , immune gene expression in spleen was determined by quantitative real time rt - pcr . for convenience of comparison , for each gene the mrna level of the control fish was set as 1 . data are presented as means±se ( n = 3 ) . n , the number of times the experiment was performed . * * p < 0 . 01 ; * p < 0 . 05 .
with the above result , which showed that interference with p247 and p523 expression affected viral replication , we wondered whether p247 and p523 disregulation would have any impact on the expression of viral genes on a global scale . to investigate this question , we conducted a whole - genome transcriptome analysis to examine the effect of p247 - and p523 - knockdown on the expression of all putative genes of megalocytivirus rbiv - c1 as represented by the 119 orfs identified in the genome of the virus . the results showed that compared to control fish , psip247 - administered fish exhibited significant (
to examine pcn247 - and pcn523 - induced cellular immune response , the cytotoxicity of the pbl from vaccinated fish was assessed . for this purpose , pbl were collected from turbot vaccinated with pcn247 , pcn523 , pcn3 , or pbs . in subsequent ldh assay , these pbl served as effector cells and were incubated with the target pbl from megalocytivirus - infected turbot . the results showed that compared to the cytotoxic activities of the pbl from pbs - and pcn3 - vaccinated fish , which were comparable , the cytotoxic activities of the pbl from pcn247 - and pcn523 - vaccinated fish were significantly higher (
most recently , major viral proteins of a marine megalocytivirus ( skiv - zj07 ) have been determined based on one - dimensional ( 1 - d ) gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry ( ms ) . a total of 19 novel megalocytiviral proteins , including 16 homologous proteins found in isknv , were identified in this virus ( 8 ) . thus , excluding the identified proteins in our previous study of spotted knifejaw iridovirus ( skiv ) , a total of 22 new viral proteins of megalocytivirus were identified in this study . the newly identified proteins encoded by orf 012r , orf 111l , and orf 119r are three ring finger proteins . orf 012r and orf 111l possessed ubiquitin e3 activity in the presence of ubiquitin - activating enzyme ( e1 ) , ubiquitin - conjugating enzyme ( e2 ) , ubiquitin , and zinc ion ( 36 ) . proteins encoded by orf 055l , orf 077r , orf 118l , and orf 125l are four ankyrin repeat proteins . a protein encoded by orf 118l was found only in the supernatant fraction , and proteins encoded by orf 055l and orf 125l were found exclusively in the pellet fraction , whereas a protein encoded by orf 077r was found in both supernatant and pellet fractions . the relationships among these four proteins are interesting topics for further studies .
the genome of trbiv is a linear double - stranded dna of 110 , 104 base pairs , comprising 55 % g + c . total 115 open reading frames were identified , encoding polypeptides ranging from 40 to 1168 amino acids . amino acid sequences analysis revealed that 39 of the 115 potential gene products of trbiv show significant homology to other iridovirus proteins . phylogenetic analysis of conserved genes indicated that trbiv is closely related to infectious spleen and kidney necrosis virus ( isknv ) , rock bream iridovirus ( rbiv ) , orange - spotted grouper iridovirus ( osgiv ) , and large yellow croaker iridovirus ( lyciv ) . the results indicated that trbiv belongs to the genus megalocytivirus ( family iridoviridae ) .
members of the genera megalocytivirus and lymphocystivirus infect only fish , whereas members of the genus ranavirus infect fish , amphibians , and reptiles . viruses may be transmitted experimentally by injection or bath immersion , and naturally by co - habitation and feeding , including cannibalism or scavenging of infected carcasses . both megalocytiviruses and ranaviruses replicate within internal organs and , in the case of fv3 , the kidney is a major target . in contrast , fish infected with lymphocystiviruses display wart - like growths on external surfaces ( and sometimes internal organs ) that are the result of greatly enlarged individual , virus - infected cells . unlike infections with megalocytiviruses or ranaviruses that can produce mortality rates of nearly 100 % , infections with lymphocystiviruses resolve spontaneously and mortality rates are generally low .
peripheral blood leukocytes were collected from turbot infected with ( a , b , g , and h ) or without ( d , e , j , and k ) megalocytivirus . the cells were treated with rat antibodies against recombinant p247 ( a , b , d , and e ) or p523 ( g , h , j , and k ) and then with fitc - labeled goat anti - rat antibodies . the cells were observed under a microscope with ( b , e , h , and k ) or without ( a , d , g , and j ) fluorescence . panels c , f , i , and l are merges of a and b , d and e , g and h , and j and k respectively . magnification , 10×40 .
dna vaccine is a genetic vaccine based on the gene that encodes an antigenic protein of a pathogen . it is carried on a plasmid , which , upon administration into the target animal , enables the expression of the vaccine gene via the transcription and translation machinery of the host animal [ 21 , 22 ] . the expressed antigen then induces specific immune response that protects the animal against infection of the relevant pathogen . dna vaccine has been studied widely for the control of various diseases associated with viral pathogens , including fish viral pathogens such as infectious pancreatic necrosis virus ( ipnv ) , viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus ( vhsv ) , and koi herpes virus disease ( khvd ) [ 23 – 28 ] . for the iridovirus family , dna vaccines have been documented against red sea bream iridovirus and rock bream iridovirus , both belonging to the megalocytivirus genus [ 29 , 30 ] .
special diagnostic tests are required to confirm a diagnosis of megalocytivirus in fish . only a fish health professional or fish disease diagnostic laboratory has the equipment and expertise to make this determination . appropriate diagnostic tests include histopathology , in which a preparation of thin fixed tissue sections are placed on a glass slide , stained , and examined under the microscope ( figure 1 ) ; virus isolation , which requires growing the virus in cell culture ; testing for evidence of antibodies made by the fish against the virus ; use of an electron microscope to look for viral particles themselves ( figure 2 ) ; and use of polymerase chain reactions ( pcr ) or dna probes ( pieces of genetic material that will bind specifically to megalocytiviruses ) , in order to reveal evidence of viral dna . because these are highly specialized tests , not all laboratories are equipped to run them . contact your local fish health professional for diagnostic assistance .
rnai was performed with dna vector - based sirna technology . to select sirna with interfering effect on the expression of p247 , three different sirna targeting p247 were inserted into the sirna expression vector prnat - cmv3 . 1 ( genscript , piscataway , usa ) at bamhi / alfii sites , resulting in plasmids psip247–1 , psip247–2 , and psip247–3 . similarly , three different sirna targeting p523 were inserted into prnat - cmv3 . 1 , resulting in plasmids psip523–1 , psip523–2 , and psip523–3 . in addition , the plasmid psicr , which expresses a scramble sirna , was constructed in the same fashion . to examine the efficiency of these sirna plasmids , eight groups of turbot ( n = 5 ) were injected i . m . with each of the plasmids ( 20 μg / fish ) or with pbs . at 2 days post - plasmid administration , the fish were infected via i . p . injection with megalocytivirus rbiv - c1 ( 10
turbot were infected via intraperitoneal ( i . p . ) injection with megalocytivirus rbiv - c1 [ 7 ] ( 1 × 10 5 copies / fish ) or pbs . at 5 days post - infection , peripheral blood leukocytes ( pbl ) were collected from the fish as described previously [ 35 ] . the cells were fixed with 70 % pre - cooled ethanol for 30 min at 4°c . the cells were washed three times with pbs , and anti - rp247 and anti - rp523 antibodies ( 1 / 1000 dilution ) prepared above were added to the cells . the cells were then treated as described previously [ 36 ] by washing three times with pbs and adding with fluorescein isothiocyanate ( fitc ) - labeled goat anti - rat igg ( bioss , beijing , china ) ( 1 / 1000 dilution ) . the cells were incubated , washed , and resuspended in pbs as above . the cells were subjected to microscopic examination with a fluorescence microscope ( nikon e800 , japan ) .
the assay was performed using cytotoxicity detection kit { ( lactate dehydrogenase ( ldh ) assay } ( roche applied science , indianapolis , usa ) according to the manufacturer’s instructions . briefly , target pbl were prepared from turbot infected with megalocytivirus rbiv - c1 for 5 days , and effector pbl were prepared form turbot vaccinated with pcn247 , pcn523 , or pcn3 as described previously [ 35 ] . the cells were suspended in l - 15 medium ( invitrogen , carlsbad , usa ) containing 10 % fbs . the effector cells were mixed with the target cells at the ratio of 50 : 1 in a 96 - well cell culture plate . after incubation at 24°c for 24 h , the plate was centrifuged , and the cell - free supernatant was collected . aliquots ( 100 μl / well ) of the supernatant were transferred to a fresh 96 - well plate . to determine the ldh activity in the supernatant , an equal volume of freshly prepared reaction mixture ( from the above ldh kit ) was added to the plate . the plate was incubated in the dark at room temperature for 30 min , and absorbance at 492 nm was measured . cytotoxicity was calculated using the following formula : cytotoxicity ( % ) = ( exp . value - low control ) / ( high control–low control ) × 100 % . the assay was performed three times .
if the list is long , use the scroll bars to view the complete list .
authors - corresponding author : v gregory chinchar ( vchinchar @ umc . edu )
subfamily alphairidovirinae , members infect amphibians , fish , reptiles ; subfamily betairidovirinae , members infect mainly insects and crustaceans .
virions consist , of a central dna / protein core surrounded in turn by an internal limiting membrane , a viral capsid , and , in the case of those particles that bud from the plasma membrane , an outer viral envelope ( figure 1 . iridoviridae ) . sds - page analysis indicates the presence of approximately 30 virion - associated proteins , while proteomic analyses suggest higher numbers
( wong et al . , 2011 , ince et al . , 2015 )
. although some virion - associated proteins such as the major capsid protein , comprise structural elements of the particle , others serve catalytic or regulatory roles , e . g . , the virion - associated transactivator of immediate - early transcription . viral capsids display icosahedral symmetry ( figure 2a . iridoviridae ) and are usually 120–200 nm in diameter , but may be up to 350 nm ( e . g . genus lymphocystivirus ) . the virion core is electron - dense and consists of a dna - protein filament enclosed within an icosahedral capsid ( figure 1 . iridoviridae ) .
a : outer shell of invertebrate iridescent virus 2 ( iiv2 ) . shown are trisymmetrons ( orange ) comprising the 20 icosahedral faces and pentrasymmetrons ( red ) located at the 12 vertices , and disymmetrons ( blue ) located at the edges of the icosahedral faces ( adapted from
with permission ) . b : cryo - transmission electron micrograph of iiv6 displaying a fringe of hair - like fibers surrounding the viral particle ( figure provided by ia ince and j van lent ) .
. both types of structure predominantly comprise hexavalent capsomers , a total of 1 , 460 per virion , that are composed of the major capsid protein ( mcp ) . each hexavalent capsomer is formed by a non - covalent mcp trimer on the outer surface and a second mcp trimer linked by disulfide bonds on the inner surface . in addition , each pentasymmetron comprises 30 hexavalent ( trimeric ) capsomers and a single pentavalent capsomer at its center , at the vertex of each pentasymmetron , for a total of 12 in each virion .
. these have been named zip monomers , zip dimers , finger proteins and anchor proteins . the zip dimers appear as two halves of a clasp connecting the trimer capsomers along the edges of adjacent trisymmetrons , whereas zip monomers appear to be involved in linking trisymmetron capsomers with those of neighboring pentasymmetrons . three sets of nine inward - pointing finger proteins bind the capsomers along the edges of each trisymmetron . finally , an anchor protein connects each pentasymmetron with the lipid membrane at a distance of two capsomers from the pentavalent vertex . other transmembrane proteins are present , but only the anchor protein can be visualized in image reconstruction studies due to its invariant position with respect to the symmetry of the particle . size estimates using the mcp as reference suggest molecular masses of 11 . 9 , 19 . 7 and 32 . 4 kda for the zip , finger and anchor proteins , respectively .
among members of the iridovirus , chloriridovirus and lymphocystivirus genera , the outer surface of the capsid is covered by flexible fibrils or fibers ( figure 2b . iridoviridae ) . conventional em studies suggest that these fibrils are often rather short ( ca . 2 . 5 nm in length ) and may have terminal knobs , but in iiv6 a single fibril 2 nm wide and about 35 nm long extends outwards from the center of each trimeric capsomer . the role of the fibrils remains unknown . fibers have not been reported among ranaviruses or megalocytiviruses .
iridovirids may acquire an envelope by budding through the host cell membrane . the envelope increases the specific infectivity of virions , but is not required for infectivity as naked particles are also infectious .
the mol wt of virions is 1 . 05–2 . 75×10 9 with a sedimentation coefficient ( s 20 , w ) of 2020–4460s and a density of 1 . 26–1 . 60 g cm −3 . virions are stable in water at 4°c for extended periods . iridovirids are inactivated by ph < 3 . 0 and > 11 . 0 and by exposure to uv - irradiation on the order of 10 3 μws / cm 2
virions are inactivated within 30 min at > 55°c . some ranaviruses remain infectious after desiccation , e . g . , bohle iridovirus ( biv ) survives desiccation at temperatures up to 42°c for up to 6 weeks , whereas others are sensitive to drying .
a nd : not determined . the genome sequences of largemouth bass virus , doctor fish virus and guppy virus 6 are unpublished , but the nucleotide sequences of their 26 core protein genes have been determined and aligned with those of other members of the family ; all three isolates are placed in the species santee - cooper ranavirus . accession numbers are for the the major capsid protein genes of these isolates .
b the sequence of the iiv1 genome has not been determined . the accession number is that of the major capsid protein .
nucleotide sequence analysis has identified more than 100 orfs among various members of the family ( tables 2 and 3 . iridoviridae , figure 3 . iridoviridae ) of which 26 are common to all iridovirids
. as discussed below , viral proteins can be ordered into one of three , somewhat overlapping , categories : catalytic , structural , and virulence - related .
genetic organization of a representative member of the family iridoviridae , ambystoma tigrinum virus ( atv ) , species ambystoma tigrinum virus , genus ranavirus . arrows represent viral orfs with their size , position and orientation shown . orfs of known function are colored red and their putative proteins identified ; orfs with known homology to tiger frog virus ( tfv ) but of unknown function are shaded blue ; and those of unknown function or with no homology to tfv are indicated in black .
the 26 conserved proteins and include the virus - encoded dna polymerase , the two largest subunits of the viral homolog of rna polymerase ii ( vpol - ii ) , and the small subunit of ribonucleotide reductase ( table 3 . iridoviridae ) . in most cases their assigned function is putative and based on homology with other proteins in the database . however , in some cases
function has been confirmed experimentally , e . g . , knock down of vpol - iiα using an antisense morpholino oligonucleotide results in a marked reduction in late viral gene expression and supports its role as a viral transcriptase .
iridovirid particles are complex assemblies of both structural and virion - associated proteins . aside from structural elements such as the mcp and the aforementioned zip , finger , and anchor proteins , virions contain an additional 30 ( or more ) proteins ranging in mass from 5 to 250 kda . the major capsid protein ( mcp , 48–55 kda ) is highly conserved among all iridovirids and comprises 40 % of the total virion protein mass . the amino acid ( aa ) sequence of the mcp has been used in virus identification and in phylogenetic analyses .
integrity of the virion , there are a number of virion - associated proteins that play specific roles in viral replication . for example , virions encode a putative transcriptional transactivator that directs the expression of immediate - early viral genes . furthermore , at least six dna - associated polypeptides have been identified within the core of iiv6 including a major species of 12 . 5 kda . likewise , a number of virion - associated enzymatic activities have been detected , including a protein kinase , nucleotide phosphohydrolase , a ss / dsrna - specific ribonuclease , ph 5 and ph 7 . 5 deoxyribonucleases , a protein phosphatase and a protein that triggers the shutdown of host macromolecular synthesis . in addition to these polypeptides , various other putative catalytic proteins have been identified by blast analysis some of which are encoded by all family members ( table 3 . iridoviridae ; figure 3 . iridoviridae ) .
lastly several putative virulence or immune evasion proteins that enhance viral replication in restrictive environments ( e . g . , quiescent cells ) or block host immune responses have been detected
a in addition to the 26 iridovirid core genes indicated above , 27 ranavirus specific genes and 13 amphibian - like ranavirus genes have been identified ( eaton et al . , 2007 , jancovich et al . , 2010 ) . of the 27 ranavirus - specific genes 24 are of unknown function , whereas the three that are known encode a card - containing protein ( 64r ) , dutpase ( 63r ) and neurofilament triplet h1 - like protein ( 32r ) . likewise only two of the 13 amphibian ranavirus - like genes ( 26r , vif - 2α ; 82r , immediate early 18 kda protein ) have putative homologs .
b orf designations are based on their positions within the genome of frog virus 3 ( ay548484 ) .
c the letters reflect the known or putative function of the indicated proteins : c , catalytic ; s , structural , v , virulence ; unk , unknown . in addition , several catalytic proteins are likely found within virions as virion - associated proteins .
non - enveloped particles contain 5–17 % lipid , predominantly as phospholipid . virions possess an internal lipid membrane that lies between the dna core and the viral capsid , and , in budded virions , an outer viral envelope
( romero - brey and bartenschlager 2016 , milrot et al . , 2016 )
. by analogy to other ncldvs the internal membrane likely plays a key role in virion assembly by serving as a scaffold on which capsid protein deposition takes place .
carbohydrate - containing proteins ( glycoproteins ) have been detected within lymphocystis disease virus and are likely present within other members of the family ( garcia - rosado et al . , 2004 ) .
( chinchar et al . , 2009 , jancovich et al . , 2015 , williams et al . , 2005 )
. similar to other large dna viruses , full l gene expression requires prior dna synthesis . thus temperature - sensitive mutants that fail to synthesize viral dna at the non - permissive temperature , and infected cells incubated in the presence of inhibitors of dna synthesis , display markedly reduced levels of late viral transcripts and proteins . virion formation takes place in the cytoplasm within morphologically distinct regions termed virus assembly sites
. concatemeric viral dna is thought to be packaged into virions via a “headful” mechanism that results in the generation of circularly - permuted and terminally - redundant genomes . following assembly , virions accumulate in the cytoplasm within paracrystalline arrays or acquire an envelope by budding from the plasma membrane
. in the case of most vertebrate iridoviruses , the majority of virions remain cell - associated ( figure 5 . iridoviridae ) .
replication strategy of frog virus 3 ( fv3 ) . replication begins in the nucleus with the synthesis of early viral transcripts and the synthesis of unit size , to twice unit size , dna genomes that are subsequently transported to the cytoplasm where a second round of dna replication results in the formation of large concatemers . late messages are synthesized in the cytoplasm using a multi - subunit , virus - encoded transcriptase . virion formation takes place in morphologically distinct assembly sites and viral particles are seen within assembly sites , paracrystalline arrays , and budding from the plasma membrane .
figure 5 . iridoviridae . transmission electron micrograph of a fathead minnow cell infected with fv3 . nucleus , n , showing signs of chromatin condensation ( cc ) ; a large electron - lucent assembly site ( * ) containing numerous immature , empty virions , few mature virions , and devoid of cellular organelles ; a paracrystalline array of virus particles ( large arrow ) ; budding virions ( small arrow ) ; scale bar = 1 µm ( figure provided by vg chinchar and rc sample ) .
. furthermore , consistent with a protective antibody response , inactivated virus vaccines protect against disease mediated by rsiv . in addition , in the fv3 / xenopus laevis model , t cells have been implicated in protection against viral disease
. however , the precise fv3 proteins that trigger a t cell response are not known .
iridovirids have been isolated only from ectothermic vertebrates and invertebrates , usually associated with damp or aquatic environments , including marine and freshwater habitats . iridovirid species vary widely in their members’ natural host range and virulence .
invertebrate iridoviruses may be transmitted perorally , e . g . by cannibalism , as well as by endoparasitic wasps or parasitic nematodes . infections with invertebrate iridoviruses fall into two categories : patent and covert . in the former , virus replication is extensive and infected animals display blue or green iridescence due to the presence of large numbers of virions within infected tissues . in the latter case , which is more common , lower levels of virus are present and iridescence is absent . however , despite the lower viral burden , covertly infected animals often experience reduced fitness
the two subfamilies within the family iridoviridae are distinguished by their primary hosts . members of the alphairidovirinae infect mainly ectothermic vertebrates ( bony fish , amphibians , and reptiles ) , whereas members of the betairidovirinae infect mainly invertebrates ( insects and crustaceans ) . furthermore members of the latter subfamily tend to have larger genomes with a lower g + c content .
members of the five genera within the family are distinguished by nucleotide / amino acid sequence identity , host range , g + c content , phylogenetic relatedness , genome co - linearity , disease manifestations and antigenicity . members of species within the same genus generally show greater than 50 % sequence identity within a common set of core genes .
as a consequence , the status of currently recognized viral species within these genera is being re - evaluated , taking into account criteria such as host range , gene order , the presence or absence of specific genes , nucleotide and amino acid sequence identity , and antigenicity .
iridovirid homologs of d5 atpase , a32 atpase , the a1l / vltf2 transcription factor , mcp and viral dna polymerase display amino acid sequence similarity with african swine fever virus and members of the families ascoviridae , phycodnaviridae , mimiviridae and poxviridae ( boyer et al . , 2009 ) . these relationships have prompted the suggestion that these viruses share a common origin and constitute members of a proposed new virus order , the megavirales ( colson et al . , 2013 ) . likewise , using a concatenated set of 9 genes common to iridovirids , ascoviruses and marseilleviruses , the close relationship between ascoviruses and invertebrate iridescent viruses has been confirmed , suggesting that ascoviruses emerged recently and share a common ancestor with iiv6 and iiv3 ( piegu et al . , 2015 ) . however , given the markedly different morphologies and replication strategies of ascoviruses and iridoviruses ( federici et al . , 2009 ) , additional analysis will be required to resolve the complicated phylogeny of members of these two distinct , yet related , families .
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urltoken
the megalocytiviruses are an important group ( genus ) of fish viruses in the family iridoviridae ( the iridoviruses ) . megalocytiviruses cause systemic infections that can result in moderate to heavy losses in many different species of freshwater and marine fishes in both cultured and wild stocks . in some disease outbreaks , 100 % losses have occurred in under one week . megalocytiviruses have been reported in fish in the united states as well as other parts of the world , especially asia .
currently , nearly all isolates from diseased fish appear to be strains of the same virus species . isolates have been divided into three major subgroups based on their genetic similarities and differences : a ) infectious spleen and kidney necrosis virus ( isknv ) ; b ) red sea bream iridovirus ( rsiv ) ; and c ) turbot reddish body iridovirus ( trbiv ) .
ornamental finfish species known to be susceptible to megalocytiviruses are listed in table 1 . many popular aquarium fish are on this list , including freshwater angelfish ( pterophyllum scalare ) , other cichlids ( family cichlidae ) , swordtails , sailfin mollies , and other common live - bearers ( family poeciliidae ) and a number of species of gourami ( family osphronemidae and family helostomatidae ) .
numerous marine and freshwater food and game finfish species have also been shown to be susceptible to infection by megalocytiviruses including : jacks and pompanos ( several species , family carangidae ) , mackerels and tuna ( several species , family scombridae ) , grouper ( several species , family serranidae ) , cobia ( rachycentron canadum ) , largemouth bass ( micropterus salmoides ) , barramundi ( lates calcarifer ) , redfish ( sciaenops ocellatus ) , hybrid striped bass ( morone saxatilis × m . chrysops ) , and gray mullet ( mugil cephalus ) . a more complete list is available online at oie’s website urltoken .
megalocytiviruses have been reported to cause disease at water temperatures ranging from 20–32°c ( 68–89 . 6°f ) .
although studies are ongoing , one research group has suggested that the virus may target and be spread by white blood cells or other immune cells in the body ( lee et al . 2009 ) . this may explain why the virus can be found throughout the body in severe cases . during necropsy , megalocytovirus - infected fish are often observed to have damage to many internal organs ( i . e . , tissue death , necrosis ) especially the spleen ( which is often enlarged ) , kidney , and liver . other organs and tissues , including muscles , gonads , heart , gills , and the gastrointestinal tract , may also be affected . some fish may have amber or hemorrhagic fluid visible within the body cavity .
concurrent ( i . e . , occurring at the same time ) infections with bacteria , parasites , or fungi may result in additional disease signs and complicate the diagnostic process . unfortunately , most sick fish often have more than one disease contributing to their conditions . determining the presence or absence of megalocytovirus in a group of diseased fish is important when making decisions about the disposition of the entire exposed population .
when a fish health professional or pathologist examines tissues prepared for histopathology , the most distinctive finding is the presence of large , bright blue ( basophilic ) or pale , foamy cells ( figure 1 ) . these enlarged , infected cells have become virus factories and are typically found in the spleen , kidney , or liver . other associated pathology , including dead tissue ( necrosis ) , can be found in just about any organ .
a disease outbreak is rarely due to the simple presence of a pathogen . many different factors often contribute , and therefore a complete review of the facility including water quality records , movement of animals in or out , and a review of husbandry procedures ( including nutrition , stocking rates , cleaning and disinfection , and other related biosecurity and system management protocols ) , be carried out as part of a disease investigation . a thorough necropsy carried out by a fish health professional of representative fish showing clinical signs of disease should be performed .
laboratory studies have demonstrated that megalocytiviruses can be spread by cohabitation ( from fish to fish in the same water body ) or by exposure to virus - contaminated water . it is probable that megalocytiviruses may also be spread by consumption of infected fish or tissues and by use of virus - contaminated equipment .
current studies suggest that megalocytiviruses have the ability to infect numerous species of freshwater and marine fish . spread of the disease , therefore , may occur by introduction of infected fish into naïve populations ( groups that have not been exposed to a disease before are called
naïve
) . infectivity may be increased if the immune systems of naïve fish are compromised due to environmental or other stressors , including recent shipping or handling .
ideally , producers should quarantine any new fish in a separate building or area and follow appropriate biosecurity protocols ( have dedicated equipment and use appropriate disinfectants ) before adding the new fish to existing farm populations . if possible , producers should also submit a representative sample of fish for additional testing , especially if any appear diseased or if mortalities occur . although transmission from broodstock to offspring has not been proven to date , producers should also consider physical separation of broodstock from other life stages ( e . g . , separate building , separate equipment , separate ponds , appropriate disinfection measures between such areas ) as a general , good biosecurity practice .
use of a water source that may have contained other fish or other potential sources of pathogens ( e . g . , a creek , lake , or other
unprotected
water source ) will increase risk as well . it is safer to use water from
protected
water sources , such as deep wells , or water that has been processed with adequate ultraviolet ( uv ) sterilization or chlorinated and dechlorinated ( see below ) .
vaccines have helped reduce disease outbreaks and mortalities for many other different finfish diseases , and preliminary research outside the united states indicates they may work for this disease as well . however , no commercial vaccines are currently available in the united states .
experimental studies have shown that iridoviruses on equipment , tanks , and other surfaces can be inactivated in several different ways . equipment and surfaces can be sterilized of iridoviruses with high temperatures alone ( 50°c [ 122°f ] or greater for 30 min ) . alternately , equipment and surfaces can be sterilized of iridoviruses with any of the following chemical treatments if performed at 25°c ( 77°f ) for a period of 15 minutes : potassium permanganate ( 100 mg / l or higher ) , formalin ( 2000 mg / l or higher ) , or 5 % sodium hypochlorite ( liquid bleach ) at 200 mg / l or higher . raising the ph to 11 or greater for 30 minutes ( or more ) may also be effective and may be a method for disinfection of earthen ponds ( he et al . 2002 ) . use of uv sterilization also has been shown to be fairly effective against iridoviruses . when red sea bream iridovirus - contaminated water was exposed to uv sterilization , doses ranging from 1 , 000 to 3 , 000 μw•sec / cm 2 resulted in 99 % or more decrease in infectivity ( kasai et al . 2002 ) .
the megalocytiviruses are an important group of viruses that infect many different species of fish . infections can result in significant ( up to 100 % ) mortalities , and some strains appear to have the ability to infect numerous species . the disease can be spread from fish to fish by contaminated water and most likely also by ingestion of infected tissues . thermal stress may promote outbreaks .