ABSTRACT: Fibropapillomatosis (FP) is a tumorous disease affecting all species of sea turtles and is associated with the pathogen chelonid alphaherpesvirus 5 (ChHV5). Hypothesized ChHV5 vectors include the marine leeches Ozobranchus branchiatus and O. margoi, but data on their associations with FP and ChHV5 are minimal. To establish relationships between leech parasitism, turtle hosts, and FP, we compared green and loggerhead turtles from the Indian River Lagoon (IRL), Florida, USA, in terms of (1) the presence or absence of ChHV5 within associated leeches, (2) the association between leech parasitism and host FP status, and (3) seasonal variation in leech presence. We identified 55 leeches collected from green turtles as O. branchiatus and 22 leeches collected from loggerhead turtles as O. margoi. Of 77 sequenced leeches, 10 O. branchiatus and 5 O. margoi were ChHV5 positive. ChHV5-positive O. branchiatus trended towards coming from FP-positive hosts. Using 12 yr of turtle capture data from the IRL, we found that leech parasitism was significantly correlated with FP and capture month in green turtles but not in loggerhead turtles. These results suggest that O. branchiatus and O. margoi may differ in their ability to transmit ChHV5 or to encounter and remain on FP-positive hosts. Alternatively, potential immunological differences between green and loggerhead turtles may explain the observed relationships. This study is the first to provide robust statistical evidence of an association between leeches and FP, as well as seasonal fluctuations in leech presence, in green turtles but not in loggerhead turtles.

中文翻译：

---

海龟的海洋水ech寄生虫在寄主物种，季节和肿瘤疾病纤维乳头瘤病之间有所不同

摘要：纤维乳头瘤病（FP）是一种会影响所有海龟物种的肿瘤性疾病，与病原体螯合物α疱疹病毒5（ChHV5）有关。假设的ChHV5载体包括海洋水ches Ozobranchus branchiatus和O. margoi，但它们与FP和ChHV5的关联数据很少。为了建立水ech寄生虫，乌龟寄主和FP之间的关系，我们比较了美国佛罗里达州印度河泻湖（IRL）的绿海龟和龟的以下方面：（1）相关水中是否存在ChHV5，（2） ）水le寄生与宿主FP状态之间的关联，以及（3）水ech存在的季节性变化。我们确定了从绿海龟身上收集的55个水ches为O. branchiatus从logger龟收集的22个水ches被称为O. margoi。在77个测序的水ches中，有10个O. branchiatus和5个O. margoi是ChHV5阳性。ChHV5阳性O. branchiatus趋向于来自FP阳性宿主。使用来自IRL的12年乌龟捕获数据，我们发现绿para中的水ech寄生与FP和捕获月份显着相关，而牛中则没有。这些结果表明，澳branchiatus和O. margoi它们在传播ChHV5或与FP阳性宿主接触和停留方面的能力可能有所不同。另外，绿海龟和海龟之间的潜在免疫学差异可能可以解释观察到的关系。这项研究首次提供了有力的统计证据，表明绿海龟而不是海龟与水ches和FP之间的关联以及水ech存在的季节性波动。