Definitions for ranavirus
This page provides all possible meanings and translations of the word ranavirus
Any virus of the genus Ranavirus, many of which cause disease in amphibians
Ranavirus is one of five genera of viruses within the family Iridoviridae, one of the five families of nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses. Ranavirus is the only genus within Iridoviridae that includes viruses that are infectious to amphibians and reptiles, and one of only three genera within this family which infect teleost fishes, along with Lymphocystivirus and Megalocytivirus. The ranaviruses, like 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. As with megalocytiviruses, Ranavirus outbreaks are therefore of considerable economic importance in aquaculture, as epizootics can result in moderate fish loss or mass mortality events of cultured fishes. Unlike megalocytiviruses, however, Ranavirus infections in amphibians have been implicated as a contributing factor in the global decline of amphibian populations. The impact of ranaviruses on amphibian populations has been compared to the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, the causative agent of chytridomycosis.
U.S. National Library of Medicine
A genus of IRIDOVIRIDAE which infects amphibians. It is non-pathogenic for its natural host, Rana pipiens, but is lethal for tadpoles and Fowler toads. Frog virus 3 is the type species.
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