Live imaging of largemouth bass virus dissemination in zebrafish
Abstract
IntroductionUnderstanding how viruses infect and spread within a living host is an attractive yet formidable goal. However, our understanding of these processes relies primarily on in vitro imaging studies conducted in cell culture models.MethodsHere, we developed a zebrafish model of Largemouth bass virus (LMBV) infection, enabling for the first time real-time tracing of iridovirus spread in vivo.ResultsLMBV infected zebrafish exhibited typical histopathological changes and reduced locomotor activity, culminating in 86.7% mortality. In representative live-imaging time-lapse sequences, LMBV (fluorescent puncta) first appeared in the tail-fin region and then propagated to the eye region. Concurrently, reporter-positive neutrophils and macrophages exhibited directed migration toward sites of viral fluorescence following exposure to fluorescently labeled LMBV. Subsequently, macrophages were observed moving toward regions containing fluorescent puncta, with some fluorescent puncta spatially overlapping with macrophage-associated fluorescence. In addition, fluorescent puncta was detected in the embryo region following viral exposure, and the fluorescence signal increased with exposure duration and viral dose.DiscussionOur findings have enabled direct visualization of LMBV’s infection route in vivo, offering a real-time perspective on the viral infection process in teleosts.
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BibTeX
@article{zhang2026live,
title = {{Live imaging of largemouth bass virus dissemination in zebrafish}},
author = {Xinyue Zhang and Lingfeng Guan and Zihan Zhang and Liqun Wang and Min Yang and Shina Wei and Qiwei Qin and Shaowen Wang},
journal = {Frontiers in Microbiology},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.3389/fmicb.2026.2003189},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2026.2003189},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Live imaging of largemouth bass virus dissemination in zebrafish
AU - Xinyue Zhang
AU - Lingfeng Guan
AU - Zihan Zhang
AU - Liqun Wang
AU - Min Yang
AU - Shina Wei
AU - Qiwei Qin
AU - Shaowen Wang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/03
JO - Frontiers in Microbiology
DO - 10.3389/fmicb.2026.2003189
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2026.2003189
AB - IntroductionUnderstanding how viruses infect and spread within a living host is an attractive yet formidable goal. However, our understanding of these processes relies primarily on in vitro imaging studies conducted in cell culture models.MethodsHere, we developed a zebrafish model of Largemouth bass virus (LMBV) infection, enabling for the first time real-time tracing of iridovirus spread in vivo.ResultsLMBV infected zebrafish exhibited typical histopathological changes and reduced locomotor activity, culminating in 86.7% mortality. In representative live-imaging time-lapse sequences, LMBV (fluorescent puncta) first appeared in the tail-fin region and then propagated to the eye region. Concurrently, reporter-positive neutrophils and macrophages exhibited directed migration toward sites of viral fluorescence following exposure to fluorescently labeled LMBV. Subsequently, macrophages were observed moving toward regions containing fluorescent puncta, with some fluorescent puncta spatially overlapping with macrophage-associated fluorescence. In addition, fluorescent puncta was detected in the embryo region following viral exposure, and the fluorescence signal increased with exposure duration and viral dose.DiscussionOur findings have enabled direct visualization of LMBV’s infection route in vivo, offering a real-time perspective on the viral infection process in teleosts.
SN - 1664-302X
ER -