A giant virus associated with oyster aquaculture mortality

Science Sessions are brief conversations with cutting-edge researchers, National Academy members, and policymakers as they discuss topics relevant to today's scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us.

In this episode, Curtis Suttle and Kevin Xu Zhong explain how a previously unidentified virus may be connected to mass die-offs of farmed Pacific oysters.

In this episode, we cover:

• [00:00] Introduction • [01:03] Environmental virologist Curtis Suttle introduces the importance of the Pacific oyster to aquaculture. • [01:42] Suttle describes mass mortality events, including one he witnessed. • [02:42] Environmental microbiologist Kevin Xu Zhong talks about the methods used to identify the Pacific Oyster Nidovirus 1. • [03:53] Zhong describes the notable features of the nidovirus. • [05:19] Zhong and Suttle explain how the nidovirus merits designation of a nidovirus family. • [06:25] Suttle explores the takeaways for oyster farmers and regulators. • [08:15] He lists the caveats and limitations of the study. • [09:40] Conclusion.

About Our Guests:

Kevin Xu Zhong Research Associate University of British Columbia

Curtis Suttle Professor University of British Columbia

View related content here: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2426923122

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Probing the die-off of Pacific oysters