Prevalence of Ranavirus Infection in Three Anuran Species across South Korea

Abstract

To cope with amphibian die-offs caused by ranavirus, it is important to know the underlying ranavirus prevalence in a region. We studied the ranavirus prevalence in tadpoles of two native and one introduced anuran species inhabiting agricultural and surrounding areas at 49 locations across eight provinces of South Korea by applying qPCR. The local ranavirus prevalence and the individual infection rates at infected locations were 32.6% and 16.1%, respectively, for Dryophytes japonicus (Japanese tree frog); 25.6% and 26.1% for Pelophylax nigromaculatus (Black-spotted pond frog); and 30.5% and 50.0% for Lithobates catesbeianus (American bullfrog). The individual infection rate of L. catesbeianus was significantly greater than that of D. japonicus. The individual infection rate of P. nigromaculatus was related to the site-specific precipitation and air temperature. The individual infection rate gradually increased from Gosner development stage 39, and intermittent infection was confirmed in the early and middle developmental stages. Our results show that ranavirus is widespread among wild amphibians living in agricultural areas of South Korea, and mass die-offs by ranavirus could occur at any time.