Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Correspondence
  • Published:

Biocontrol of common carp in Australia poses risks to biosecurity

Nature Ecology & Evolution volume 1, Article number: 0087 (2017) Cite this article

Subjects

To the Editor — The Australian government is considering employing the koi herpesvirus (KHV) for biocontrol of invasive common carp (Cyprinus carpio) in the Murray–Darling river system of southeast Australia in 20181,2. KHV is on the World Organisation of Animal Health (OIE) list of notifiable diseases3, yet the biocontrol programme has been framed as a safe and manageable proposition1,2. Previous reports highlight that viruses have been successfully employed in the biocontrol of terrestrial vertebrates1, including cats on Marion Island, and feral rabbits in Australia and New Zealand. However, compared with the biocontrol of terrestrial vertebrates, the biocontrol of large, highly fecund aquatic animals such as carp adds novel risks.

First, host-range evolution of fish herpesviruses has been complex with periods of co-diversification punctuated by host switching events4,5. The planned release will result in the propagation of an unprecedented number of viral particles in the environment: estimated to be as many as 2 × 1023. Negative results from (relatively small-scale) infection experiments with KHV and native fish species conducted in the laboratory cannot rule out the possibility of cross infection; the population size in the wild will grant the virus an enormous evolutionary potential, and it will come into contact with a vast number of host individuals of different species, including individuals with compromised immunity. Given our phylogenetic understanding of herpesviruses (and the impossibility of proving a negative), host-switching cannot be ruled out6.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Di Giallonardo, F. & Holmes, E. C. PLoS Pathog. 11, e1004865 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. McColl, K., Cooke, B. & Sunarto, A. Biol. Control 72, 109–117 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Global Invasive Species Database. Species profile: Cyprinus carpio (Invasive Species Specialist Group, accessed 4 October 2010); http://go.nature.com/2iVrOGD

  4. McGeoch, D. J., Cook, S., Dolan, A., Jamieson, F. E. & Telford, E. A. J. Mol. Biol. 247, 443–458 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Waltzek, T. B. et al. Dis. Aquat. Organ. 84, 179–194 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Parrish, C. R. et al. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 72, 457–470 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Tveterås, R. Global finfish production review: Gradual growth. Global Aquaculture Advocate (11 January 2016); http://go.nature.com/2jANh8O

  8. Thomas, J. F. Water and the Australian Economy (Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, 1999).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Linhart, O., Kudo, S., Billard, R., Slechta, V. & Mikodina, E. V. Aquaculture 129, 75–93 (1995).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Weber, M. J., Hennen, M. J., Brown, M. L., Lucchesi, D. O. & St. Sauver, T. R. Fish. Res. 179, 168–178 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jackie Lighten and Cock van Oosterhout School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, NR4 7TJ, UK.,

    Jackie Lighten & Cock van Oosterhout

Authors
  1. Jackie Lighten
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Cock van Oosterhout
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Jackie Lighten or Cock van Oosterhout.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lighten, J., van Oosterhout, C. Biocontrol of common carp in Australia poses risks to biosecurity. Nat Ecol Evol 1, 0087 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0087

Download citation

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0087

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing