Acquired Protective Immunity in Atlantic Salmon Salmo salar against the Myxozoan Kudoa thyrsites Involves Induction of MHIIß+ CD83+ Antigen-Presenting Cells.

The histozoic myxozoan parasite Kudoa thyrsites causes postmortem myoliquefaction and is responsible for economic losses to salmon aquaculture in the Pacific Northwest. Despite its importance, little is known about the host-parasite relationship, including the host response to infection. The present work sought to characterize the immune response in Atlantic salmon during infection, recovery, and reexposure to K. thyrsites After exposure to infective seawater, infected and uninfected smolts were sampled three times over 4,275 degree-days. Histological analysis revealed infection severity decreased over time in exposed fish, while in controls there was no evidence of infection. Following a secondary exposure of all fish, severity of infection in the controls was similar to that measured in exposed fish at the first sampling time but was significantly reduced in reexposed fish, suggesting the acquisition of protective immunity. Using immunohistochemistry, we detected a population of MHIIß+ cells in infected muscle that followed a pattern of abundance concordant with parasite prevalence. Infiltration of these cells into infected myocytes preceded destruction of the plasmodium and dissemination of myxospores. Dual labeling indicated a majority of these cells were CD83+/MHIIß+ Using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR, we detected significant induction of cellular effectors, including macrophage/dendritic cells (mhii/cd83/mcsf), B cells (igm/igt), and cytotoxic T cells (cd8/nkl), in the musculature of infected fish. These data support a role for cellular effectors such as antigen-presenting cells (monocyte/macrophage and dendritic cells) along with B and T cells in the acquired protective immune response of Atlantic salmon against K. thyrsites.

Specific PCR for Myxobolus arcticus SSU rDNA in juvenile sockeye salmon Oncorhynchus nerka from British Columbia, Canada.

A PCR for the specific detection of the salmon brain parasite Myxobolus arcticus (Pugachev and Khokhlov, 1979) was developed using primers designed to amplify a 1363 base pair fragment of the small subunit rDNA. The assay did not amplify DNA from 5 other Myxobolus species or from 7 other myxozoan species belonging to 5 other genera. For juvenile sockeye salmon Oncorhynchus nerka (Walbaum) collected from Chilko Lake, British Columbia (BC), Canada, in 2011, the prevalence by PCR was 96%, in contrast to 71% by histological examination of brain tissue. In 2010, the histological prevalence was 52.5%. Sequence identity between M. arcticus from Chilko Lake and other sites in BC ranged from 99.7 to 99.8% and was 99.6% for a Japanese sequence. In contrast, an M. arcticus sequence from Norway shared 95.3% identity with the Chilko Lake sequence, suggesting misidentification of the parasite. Chilko Lake sockeye salmon were previously reported free of infection with M. arcticus, and more research is required to understand the processes involved in the local and global dispersion of this parasite.

Estimation of parameters influencing waterborne transmission of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar).

Understanding how pathogenic organisms spread in the environment is crucial for the management of disease, yet knowledge of propagule dispersal and transmission in aquatic environments is limited. We conducted empirical studies using the aquatic virus, infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV), to quantify infectious dose, shedding capacity, and virus destruction rates in order to better understand the transmission of IHN virus among Atlantic salmon marine net-pen aquaculture. Transmission of virus and subsequent mortality in Atlantic salmon post-smolts was initiated with as low as 10 plaque forming units (pfu) ml(-1). Virus shedding from IHNV infected Atlantic salmon was detected before the onset of visible signs of disease with peak shed rates averaging 3.2 × 10(7) pfu fish(-1) hour(-1) one to two days prior to mortality. Once shed into the marine environment, the abundance of free IHNV is modulated by sunlight (UV A and B) and the growth of natural biota present in the seawater. Virus decayed very slowly in sterilized seawater while rates as high as k =  4.37 d(-1) were observed in natural seawater. Decay rates were further accelerated when exposed to sunlight with virus infectivity reduced by six orders of magnitude within 3 hours of full sunlight exposure. Coupling the IHNV transmission parameter estimates determined here with physical water circulation models, will increase the understanding of IHNV dispersal and provide accurate geospatial predictions of risk for IHNV transmission from marine salmon sites.