Phylogenetic analysis of spring viraemia of carp virus isolated in Serbia

Abstract Spring viraemia of carp (SVC) is an infectious disease responsible for severe economic losses for various cyprinid species, particularly common carp ( Cyprinus carpio carpio ). The causative agent is the Rhabdovirus carpio or SVC virus (SVCV), a member of the Sprivivirus genus, within the Rhabdoviridae family. Phylogenetically, SVCV is divided into four genogroups (SVCV a, SVCV b, SVCV c and SVCV d), which have a reasonable correlation with the geographical distribution of the virus. In the late twentieth century, the disease was widespread in Serbian aquaculture and caused massive deaths in common carp. This study aimed to molecularly characterize the circulating SVCV isolates in Serbia over a 17‐year period. The genetic relationships between 21 SVCV isolates from common carp and rainbow trout in Serbia between 1992 and 2009 were determined based on the partial nucleotide sequence of the glycoprotein gene (G gene). The phylogenetic analysis showed that the dominant SVCV isolates in Serbia belong to the SVCV d genogroup, with only one isolate belonging to genogroup SVCV b. The SVCV strains circulating in Serbia exhibited high homogeneity, as several isolates shared 100% similarity within these genogroups. Most Serbian isolates belonged to SVCV d1 and d2 subgroups, with one isolate notably different and included in a new subgroup SVCV d5. Understanding the SVCV genetic variants circulating in Serbia would be helpful in future epizootic investigations.