Dear Collegues we're pleased to inform you about two articles recently published on dolphin morbillivirus (DMV) found in fin and bealed whales. 1) The first one, entitled "GENOMIC AND STRUCTURAL INVESTIGATIONS ON DOLPHIN MORBILLIVIRUS IN MEDITERRANEAN FIN WHALES (BALAENOPTERA PHYSALUS)" described investigations on the virus deemed to be responsible for a recent mortality cluster in the Mediterranean Sea in the last years. The abstract is here below reported: Dolphin morbillivirus (DMV) has been deemed as one of the most relevant threats for fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) being responsible for a mortality outbreak in the Mediterranean Sea in the last years. Knowledge of the complete viral genome is essential to understand any structural changes that could modify virus pathogenesis and viral tissue tropism. We report the complete DMV sequence of N, P/V/C, M, F and H genes identified from a fin whale and the comparison of primary to quaternary structure of proteins between this fin whale strain and some of those isolated during the 1990–‘92 and the 2006–‘08 epidemics. Some relevant substitutions were detected, particularly Asn52Ser located on F protein and Ile21Thr on N protein. Comparing mutations found in the fin whale DMV with those occurring in viral strains of other cetacean species, some of them were proven to be the result of diversifying selection, thus allowing to speculate on their role in host adaptation and on the way they could affect the interaction between the viral attachment and fusion with the target host cells. Citation: Beffagna, G. et al. Genomic and structural investigation on dolphin morbillivirus (DMV) in Mediterranean fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus). Sci. Rep. 7, 41554 Download the full article here: http://www.nature.com/articles/srep41554 2) The second article describes the first identification of DMV in a Cuvier's beaked whale stranded in Italy in 2015. The paper reports also results of the constant monitoring along the Italian coastlines related to DMV. Here below the abstract and data for citation and downloading. Dolphin morbillivirus (DMV) has caused several mortality events in Mediterranean striped (Stenella coeruleoalba) and bottlenose (Tursiops truncatus) dolphins populations since nineties; in the last 5 years, the virus was reported to infect new hosts in this basin, such as fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus), sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) and even a harbor seal (Phoca vitulina). Very recently, a calf Cuvier’s beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris) calf stranded on the Southern Italian coastline with mild pathological findings suggestive of morbilliviral infection, received the first confirmation of DMV infection in this species by biomolecular evidences on lung tissue. This new cross species infection report, along with 19% of the cetaceans specimens examined by the Italian Stranding Network being found positive to DMV, support the hypothesis of an endemic circulation of this virus among Mediterranean cetaceans. Citation: Centelleghe C, Beffagna G, Palmisano G, Franzo G, Casalone C, Pautasso A, Giorda F, Di Nocera F, Iaccarino D, Santoro M, Di Guardo G and Mazzariol S (2017). Dolphin morbillivirus in a Cuvier’s beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris), Italy. Front. Microbiol. 8:111. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.00111 Download: http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb.2017.00111/abstract All the best Sandro Mazzariol -- Dr. Sandro Mazzariol, DVM, PhD Dipartimento di Biomedicina Comparata e Alimentazione (BCA) Università degli Studi di Padova Cetaceans strandings Emergency Response Team (CERT) AGRIPOLIS - Ed. Museo Viale dell'Università 16 35020 - Legnaro (PD) tel.: +39 049 827 2963 fax: +39 049 827 2973 skype: smazzariol