Biology Faculty Articles
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-2008
Publication Title
Emerging Infectious Diseases
ISSN
1080-6040
Volume
14
Issue/No.
2
First Page
252
Last Page
259
Abstract
From 2002 through 2005, an outbreak of feline leukemia virus (FeLV) occurred in Florida panthers (Puma concolor coryi). Clinical signs included lymphadenopathy, anemia, septicemia, and weight loss; 5 panthers died. Not associated with FeLV outcome were the genetic heritage of the panthers (pure Florida vs. Texas/Florida crosses) and co-infection with feline immunodeficiency virus. Genetic analysis of panther FeLV, designated FeLV-Pco, determined that the outbreak likely came from 1 cross-species transmission from a domestic cat. The FeLV-Pco virus was closely related to the domestic cat exogenous FeLV-A subgroup in lacking recombinant segments derived from endogenous FeLV. FeLV-Pco sequences were most similar to the well-characterized FeLV-945 strain, which is highly virulent and strongly pathogenic in domestic cats because of unique long terminal repeat and envelope sequences. These unique features may also account for the severity of the outbreak after cross-species transmission to the panther.
NSUWorks Citation
Brown, Meredith; Mark W. Cunningham; Alfred L. Roca; Jennifer L. Troyer; Warren E. Johnson; and Stephen J. O'Brien. 2008. "Genetic Characterization of Feline Leukemia Virus from Florida Panthers." Emerging Infectious Diseases 14, (2): 252-259. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/cnso_bio_facarticles/777
ORCID ID
0000-0001-7353-8301
ResearcherID
N-1726-2015
Included in
Genetics and Genomics Commons, Immunology and Infectious Disease Commons, Veterinary Medicine Commons
Additional Comments
National Cancer Institute contract #: N01-CO-12400; GenBank accession #s: EU189489-EU189498