Zebrafish as a model host for studies of Piscirickettsia salmonis and its outer membrane vesicles

Julia I. Tandberg, Leidy X. Lagos, Eva Berger, Anne-Lise Rishovd, Norbert Roos, Deepa Varkey, Ian Paulson, Hanne C. Winther-Larsen

    Research output: Contribution to journalConference paper

    Abstract

    The intracellular bacterium Piscirickettsia salmonis is the etiologic agent of salmonid rickettsial septicaemia (SRS), a bacterial disease that over the last decades has had a devastating effect on the Chilean aquaculture. Although P. salmonis has been recognized as a major fish pathogen for several years, there is still a lack in knowledge in regard to the bacterium pathogenesis. As outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) has been reported to be important for the infection of several bacteria species, the present study established a zebrafish infection model for studies of P. salmonis and the role of the bacterium's OMVs during infection. The P. salmonis derived vesicles were, shown to be internalized by cell cultures and OMVs injected into adult zebrafish revealed an upregulation of several pro-inflammatory genes, indicating a modulating effect on the immune system. Comparison of OMVs from three strains of P. salmonis, isolated from salmonids in Norway (NVI 5692), Canada (NVI 5892) and Chile (LF-89) did, further, reveal several strain-specific differences related to higher virulence capability for LF-89, and stronger similarities between NVI 5692 and NVI 5892. In summary, the present study is the first in-depth analysis of P. salmonis derived OMVs, highlighting strain-specific factors able to contribute to adaptations and virulence.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)86
    Number of pages1
    JournalFish and Shellfish Immunology
    Volume53
    Issue numberISFSI 2016
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2016
    Event2nd conference of the International Society of Fish & Shellfish Immunology - Aquaculture Research Institute of University of Maine, Portland, Germany
    Duration: 26 Jun 201630 Jun 2016

    Keywords

    • Dicentrarchus labrax
    • sea bass
    • axenic
    • larvae
    • ferritin
    • innate immunity
    • Vibrio anguillarum

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Zebrafish as a model host for studies of Piscirickettsia salmonis and its outer membrane vesicles'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this