First isolation of a giant virus from wild Hirudo medicinalis leech: Mimiviridae isolation in Hirudo medicinalis
Basic science / virology published in Viruses (2013)
Abstract
Giant viruses and amoebae are common in freshwater, where they can coexist with other living multicellular organisms. We screened leeches from the species Hirudo medicinalis for giant viruses. We analyzed five H. medicinalis obtained from Tunisia (3) and France (2). The leeches were decontaminated and then dissected to remove internal parts for co-culture with Acanthamoeba polyphaga. The genomes of isolated viruses were sequenced on a 454 Roche instrument, and a comparative genomics analysis was performed. One Mimivirus was isolated and the strain was named Hirudovirus. The genome assembly generated two scaffolds, which were 1,155,382 and 25,660 base pairs in length. Functional annotations were identified for 47% of the genes, which corresponds to 466 proteins. The presence of Mimividae in the same ecological niche as wild Hirudo may explain the presence of the mimivirus in the digestive tract of the leech, and several studies have already shown that viruses can persist in the digestive tracts of leeches fed contaminated blood. As leeches can be used medically and Mimiviruses have the potential to be an infectious agent in humans, patients treated with leeches should be surveyed to investigate a possible connection.
Abstract sourced from PubMed (NCBI) for the cited record. See the original publication for the authoritative version.
Zusammenfassung
First isolation of a Mimivirus (Hirudovirus) from wild Hirudo medicinalis leeches. Genome assembly produced 1.15 Mbp + 25.6 kbp scaffolds with 466 annotated proteins. Suggests surveillance of patients treated with leeches.
Warum dies für die Hirudotherapie relevant ist
This study screened five Hirudo medicinalis leeches—three from Tunisia and two from France—for giant viruses by co-culturing internal tissues with Acanthamoeba polyphaga, yielding isolation of a Mimivirus strain designated Hirudovirus with a genome assembly of two scaffolds (1,155,382 and 25,660 base pairs) and 466 annotated proteins. The authors note that Mimiviridae share the freshwater ecological niche of leeches, that viruses can persist in leech digestive tracts, and that—given Mimivirus potential as a human infectious agent—patients treated with leeches should be surveyed to investigate a possible connection. For ASH's domain, this raises a biosafety consideration relevant to hirudotherapy. Caveat: This is a single virus isolation with no clinical infection data presented, and the pathogenic significance remains speculative.
Zitation
First isolation of a giant virus from wild Hirudo medicinalis leech: Mimiviridae isolation in Hirudo medicinalis.
Boughalmi M et al. · Viruses, 2013
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