Thierry Work leads a team of wildlife disease researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey who study sea turtles. Recently, they turned their attention to the ChHV5 virus. The virus infects endangered green sea turtles, who then develop tumors. Eventually the infection weakens the turtle’s immune systems and the turtles die.
Studying this virus initially proved difficult. ChHV5 proved intractable to traditional methods of growing viruses to study in the lab. Work’s team noticed that the virus seemed to grow in skin cells. However, non-mammal skin cells had never been grown in a lab before. Skin is three dimensional, so the researchers took both tumor and healthy skin cells to replicate it. Turtle skin is also typically covered with everything from tiny bacteria to larger barnacles, so finding a sterile piece to grow in the lab is difficult.
Eventually the skin cells were successfully grown in the laboratory. Researchers saw that the virus forms interesting sun-shaped patterns as it replicates. This information is allowing them to begin developing a blood test to identify turtles suffering from the early phases of the infection. Our expert, Madeleine Jennewein of Harvard University’s virology department, warns that the work is far from complete. There is still a lot of virology research that will be needed to understand how this virus works to cause illness. She also points out that, despite some scaremongering popular press headlines, the skin used to grow the virus will not result in mutant turtle scenario. …show more content…
Original Publication: In-vitro replication of Chelonid herpesvirus 5 in organotypic skin cultures from Hawaiian green turtles (Chelonia
Studying this virus initially proved difficult. ChHV5 proved intractable to traditional methods of growing viruses to study in the lab. Work’s team noticed that the virus seemed to grow in skin cells. However, non-mammal skin cells had never been grown in a lab before. Skin is three dimensional, so the researchers took both tumor and healthy skin cells to replicate it. Turtle skin is also typically covered with everything from tiny bacteria to larger barnacles, so finding a sterile piece to grow in the lab is difficult.
Eventually the skin cells were successfully grown in the laboratory. Researchers saw that the virus forms interesting sun-shaped patterns as it replicates. This information is allowing them to begin developing a blood test to identify turtles suffering from the early phases of the infection. Our expert, Madeleine Jennewein of Harvard University’s virology department, warns that the work is far from complete. There is still a lot of virology research that will be needed to understand how this virus works to cause illness. She also points out that, despite some scaremongering popular press headlines, the skin used to grow the virus will not result in mutant turtle scenario. …show more content…
Original Publication: In-vitro replication of Chelonid herpesvirus 5 in organotypic skin cultures from Hawaiian green turtles (Chelonia