Biocontrol of common carp in australia poses risks to biosecurity

Access through your institution Buy or subscribe TO THE EDITOR — The Australian government is considering employing the koi herpesvirus (KHV) for biocontrol of invasive common carp

(_Cyprinus carpio_) in the Murray–Darling river system of southeast Australia in 20181,2. KHV is on the World Organisation of Animal Health (OIE) list of notifiable diseases3, yet the

biocontrol programme has been framed as a safe and manageable proposition1,2. Previous reports highlight that viruses have been successfully employed in the biocontrol of terrestrial

vertebrates1, including cats on Marion Island, and feral rabbits in Australia and New Zealand. However, compared with the biocontrol of terrestrial vertebrates, the biocontrol of large,

highly fecund aquatic animals such as carp adds novel risks. First, host-range evolution of fish herpesviruses has been complex with periods of co-diversification punctuated by host

switching events4,5. The planned release will result in the propagation of an unprecedented number of viral particles in the environment: estimated to be as many as 2 × 1023. Negative

results from (relatively small-scale) infection experiments with KHV and native fish species conducted in the laboratory cannot rule out the possibility of cross infection; the population

size in the wild will grant the virus an enormous evolutionary potential, and it will come into contact with a vast number of host individuals of different species, including individuals

with compromised immunity. Given our phylogenetic understanding of herpesviruses (and the impossibility of proving a negative), host-switching cannot be ruled out6. This is a preview of

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ACCESS OPTIONS: * Log in * Learn about institutional subscriptions * Read our FAQs * Contact customer support REFERENCES * Di Giallonardo, F. & Holmes, E. C. _PLoS Pathog_. 11, e1004865

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_Fish. Res._ 179, 168–178 (2016). Article  Google Scholar  Download references ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors declare no competing financial interests. AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND

AFFILIATIONS * Jackie Lighten and Cock van Oosterhout School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, NR4 7TJ, UK., Jackie Lighten & Cock van

Oosterhout Authors * Jackie Lighten View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Cock van Oosterhout View author publications You can also search

for this author inPubMed Google Scholar CORRESPONDING AUTHORS Correspondence to Jackie Lighten or Cock van Oosterhout. ETHICS DECLARATIONS COMPETING INTERESTS The authors declare no

competing financial interests. RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Lighten, J., van Oosterhout, C. Biocontrol of common carp in Australia

poses risks to biosecurity. _Nat Ecol Evol_ 1, 0087 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0087 Download citation * Published: 21 February 2017 * DOI:

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