Phylogenomic characterization of red seabream iridovirus from Florida pompano Trachinotus carolinus maricultured in the Caribbean Sea

Between 2010 and 2016, six mortality events were observed in Florida pompano (Trachinotus carolinus) maricultured in the Dominican Republic. Histopathological examination and conventional PCR confirmed a megalocytivirus (MCV) infection in each case. Subsequently, next-generation sequencing and phylogenomic analyses confirmed that MCV DNA was present in the infected pompano tissue samples from 2010, 2014, and 2016, and each was determined to be red seabream iridovirus (RSIV). Annotation of the RSIV genome sequences identified 121 open reading frames, and BLASTN analysis revealed the highest nucleotide sequence identity (> 99%) to a RSIV clade 1 MCV isolated from a moribund red seabream (Pagrus major) maricultured in Japan. These cases represent the first fully sequenced RSIV genomes detected outside of Asia and are the earliest reports of MCV infections in Florida pompano. This recent geographical expansion of RSIV warrants further attention to determine its potential economic and ecological impact.