Expression and serological application of a capsid protein of an iridovirus isolated from rock bream, Oplegnathus fasciatus (Temminck & Schlegel)

Iridoviruses infect a wide variety of wild and cultured fish. Those iridoviruses belonging to the genus Ranavirus, in the Iridoviridae family, cause systemic disease in infected animals with a high morbidity and mortality. This paper reports the cloning, sequencing, and expression of the rock bream iridovirus (RBIV) major capsid protein (MCP) in an Escherichia coli expression system for subsequent immunological studies. The completeness of the expressed protein was confirmed by peptide mass fingerprinting (PMF) analysis using MALDI-TOF MS. The recombinant MCP (rMCP)-specific mouse polyclonal antibody reacted with the viral 52 kDa protein, indicating that this rMCP induces an immunological response. Fish antibodies induced against iridovirus infection were also detected using ELISA when rMCP was used as an antigen. As a result, it was found that many cultured rock bream (92.5%) were naturally infected with iridovirus and that the rMCP might be useful for serological tests.