Prevalence of neutralising antibodies against adenoviruses in lizards and snakes

- Neutralisation tests with several adenovirus (AdV) isolates from lizards and snakes were established.
- The prevalence of antibodies against AdVs in plasma from squamates were determined.
- Cross-reactivities between different AdV isolates in squamate plasma were defined.
- AdV infections appear to be common in wild-caught and captive lizards and snakes.
- Adenoviruses may not be as species specific as previously supposed.

Adenoviruses (AdVs) are relatively common in lizards and snakes, and several genetically distinct AdVs have been isolated in cell culture. The aims of this study were to examine serological relationships among lizard and snake AdVs and to determine the frequency of AdV infections in these species. Isolates from a boa constrictor (Boa constrictor), a corn snake (Pantherophis gutattus) and a central bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps), and two isolates from helodermatid lizards (Heloderma horridum and H. suspectum) were used in neutralisation tests for the detection of antibodies in plasma from 263 lizards from seven families (including 12 species) and from 141 snakes from four families (including 28 species) from the USA and Europe. Most lizard and snake samples had antibodies against a range of AdV isolates, indicating that AdV infection is common among these squamates. Neutralisation tests with polyclonal antibodies raised in rabbits demonstrated serological cross-reactivity between both helodermatid lizard isolates. However, squamate plasma showed different reactions to each of these lizard isolates in neutralisation tests.