Publication Date

2023

Document Type

Thesis

Committee Members

Abimbola O. Kolawole, Ph.D. (Advisor); Athanasios Bubulya, Ph.D. (Committee Member); Quan Zhong, Ph.D. (Committee Member)

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Abstract

The study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of four enteric viruses in mouse research facilities that may not be captured by routine pathogen screening. Fecal samples were collected from contact-sentinel mouse cages between April 2022 and January 2023, and screened for the presence of viral genome by RT-qPCR. Out of a total of 50 samples, murine norovirus and murine astrovirus were detected in two (4%) and one (2%) sample, respectively, while murine adenovirus and murine rotavirus were not detected. Furthermore, all samples were screened for the presence of infectious murine noroviruses and astroviruses using the RAW264.7 and Vero cells respectively. Interestingly, infectious murine norovirus was observed in ten (26.31%) samples and no infectious murine astrovirus. Using Sanger sequencing, the species of the detected norovirus was determined as murine norovirus type-1 (MNV-1). These findings highlight the need to update health monitoring practices in mouse research facilities and develop tools to monitor emerging viruses.

Page Count

83

Department or Program

Department of Biological Sciences

Year Degree Awarded

2023


Included in

Biology Commons

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