Freshwater mussel viromes increase rapidly in diversity and abundance when hosts are released from captivity into the wild

Jordan C. Richard; Tim W. Lane; Rose E. Agbalog; Sarah Colletti; Tiffany Leach; Christopher D. Dunn; Nathan Roy Bollig; Addison R. Plate; Joseph T. Munoz; Eric M. Leis; Susan Knowles; Isaac Standish; Diane L. Waller; Tony L. Golberg

doi:10.3390/ani14172531

Freshwater mussel viromes increase rapidly in diversity and abundance when hosts are released from captivity into the wild

Animals

By: Jordan C. Richard, Tim W. Lane, Rose E. Agbalog, Sarah Colletti, Tiffany Leach, Christopher D. Dunn, Nathan Roy Bollig, Addison R. Plate, Joseph T. Munoz, Eric M. Leis, Susan Knowles, Isaac Standish, Diane L. Waller, and Tony L. Golberg

https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14172531

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Abstract

Freshwater mussels create habitat, filter water, and enhance food webs, but they are also among the world’s most imperiled taxa. Conservation efforts largely rely on captive propagation in which mussels are grown in protected aquaculture environments (hatcheries) for later release. Recent evidence has highlighted the importance of pathogens in population losses of freshwater mussels. In response to ongoing mass mortality events of freshwater mussels in the Upper Tennessee River Basin in Virginia and Tennessee, USA, we conducted a multi-year study to document viruses across multiple restoration sites and compare them to viruses in mussels from the hatchery. Viral communities changed greatly after mussels were released. Of the 681 viruses of the 27 families we documented, only 20 viruses were found exclusively in hatchery mussels, compared to 451 viruses found only in mussels stocked to the wild. After release, mussels rapidly acquired new viruses, and the number of viruses increased steadily over time. These findings have implications for how mussel introduction programs might be managed for greater success, for example, by incorporating acclimatization periods prior to full release.

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Additional publication details
Publication type	Article
Publication Subtype	Journal Article
Title	Freshwater mussel viromes increase rapidly in diversity and abundance when hosts are released from captivity into the wild
Series title	Animals
DOI	10.3390/ani14172531
Volume	14
Issue	17
Year Published	2024
Language	English
Publisher	MDPI
Contributing office(s)	National Wildlife Health Center
Description	2531, 20 p.
Country	United States
State	Tennessee, Virgnia
Google Analytic Metrics	Metrics page