A brief review on virology researches of fish herpesviruses

Herpesviruses, as the members of the double-stranded DNA viruses, are highly disseminated in nature. Diverse viral isolates of Alloherpesviridae family are the main pathogens of aquatic animal diseases, which severely restrict the sustainable development of global aquaculture, particularly a huge impact on the fish aquaculture in China. Thus, this article provides a brief overview on virology researches of fish herpesviruses, including Cyprinid herpesvirus, Ictalurid herpesvirus, Salmonid herpesvirus and other fish herpesviruses. In detail, Cyprinivirus includes C. herpesvirus 1 (CyHV-1), C. herpesvirus 2 (CyHV-2), C. herpesvirus 3 (CyHV-3), Carassius auratus herpesvirus (CaHV), Anguillid herpesvirus 1 (AngHV-1); Ictalurivirus involves I. herpesvirus 1 (IcHV-1), I. herpesvirus 2 (IcHV-2), Acipenserid herpesvirus (AciHV-1). Salmonivirus consists mainly of S. herpesvirus 1,2,3,4,5 (SalHVs). Besides, the article also covers newly identified virus isolates including Tilapia larvae encephalitis virus, TLEV; Gadid herpesvirus 1, and so on, which threaten the health of the farmed and wild fish. This overview of fish herpesviruses discusses the diseases caused by these viruses, the biology of these pathogens, the host-virus interactions, development of detection technology and progress in the prevention strategies. This may be helpful to our understanding of the viral research trends of fish herpesviruses.