Abstract

Ranaviruses are a primary cause of amphibian extinctions. More consistent ranavirus-infection reports and genetic characterizations of identified viruses are urgently needed, particularly from Asian countries. The objectives of this study were to obtain the partial major capsid protein (MCP) gene sequences (506 bp) of the ranavirus responsible for infecting frogs in South Korea, as our previous research had confirmed using qPCR, and to evaluate their genetic relationships with other previously reported ranavirus sequences. Three different ranavirus MCP sequences were obtained from Pelophylax nigromaculatus and Lithobates catesbeianus. All six different types of MCP sequence from the ranavirus identified in South Korea to date belonged to the Frog virus 3 (FV3)-like virus group in the genus Ranavirus. To better understand the origin and spread of ranaviruses in South Korea, further infection reports and full genome analyses of the identified ranaviruses are needed.