merged

Molecular detection of Megalocytivirus in pearl gourami
(Trichogaster leeri)
Dineswary Balaraman
Supervisor: Dr Sandra Catherine Zainathan
Bachelor of Science in Agrotechnology (Aquaculture)
School of Fisheries and Aquaculture Sciences
Pearl gourami (Trichogaster leeri) is a native ornamental fish species cultured in
Malaysia and it has contributed to Malaysian income by its exports. The occurrence of
Megalocytivirus infection in T.leeri has been reported in the fish imported from Asian
countries such as Singapore and Malaysia to Australia and Korea. Thus, this study was
aimed to detect the presence or absence of Megalocytivirus in T.leeri samples from
Johor by nested PCR method. From total of 50 samples, ISKNV was detected in 30
samples at 60% of prevalence. All the positive samples look healthy and did not show
any clinical signs of ISKNV. Sequence analysis of MCP gene showed that the strain
detected is closely related to the reference ISKNV with 99% nucleotide sequence
identity. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis of MCP gene revealed that virus from
genus Megalocytivirus is the closest to the ISKNV complete genome and is classified
into Megalocytivirus genotype 1.
481 | UMT UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH DAY 2018