Environmental DNA surveillance of Ranavirus in a New York State vernal pool network

This study characterized ranavirus in amphibian breeding pools with a history of epizootics using both host tissues and aquatic eDNA samples. We concurrently collected temporal series of water samples and liver samples from wood frog and green frog larvae from May - October 2016. We used high-throughput sequencing to confirm Ranavirus qPCR assay specificity when applied to eDNA samples, compare viral populations between eDNA- and host-derived samples, and identify sequence variation in the dominant ranavirus population over time.