Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) can be experimentally infected with both marine and freshwater fish trypanosomes.

Chen, K, Zhang, P, Yang, TB, Wen, YZ, Hide, G ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3608-0175, Lun, ZR and Lai, DH 2022, 'Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) can be experimentally infected with both marine and freshwater fish trypanosomes.' , Experimental parasitology, 239 , p. 108288.

Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)

Abstract

Trypanosomes are haemoflagellates found in vertebrate species and many of them can cause death in infected hosts including fish and humans. With the development of high-density farming in marine and freshwater fish aquaculture systems, severe disease or death, caused by trypanosomiasis, has been frequently reported. However, due to the lack of a model system, particularly for marine fish trypanosomes, and a paucity in the understanding of the biology and pathogenesis of these parasites, effective treatment for fish trypanosomiasis is significantly hampered. The goldfish is the common model system for freshwater fish trypanosomes, mainly of the species Trypanosoma carassii, while a similar model for marine fish trypanosomes has not yet been established. To address this issue, we found that Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) could be easily infected with a marine fish trypanosome, Trypanosoma epinepheli isolated from Lates calcarifer. Obvious clinical symptoms, associated with a high parasitemia (>10 /ml), were found in the infected tilapias and more than 70% mortality was recorded in individuals within 20 days of infection. Interestingly, we also found that the Nile tilapia could also be infected with a freshwater fish trypanosome isolated from the largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) and caused significant death (more than 13%) in infected fish. This system not only provides an economical and effective laboratory model to study the biology and pathogenesis of marine and freshwater fish trypanosomes, but also provides a useful platform to develop vaccines and screen compounds for the protection and treatment of fish trypanosomiasis. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.]

Item Type:	Article
Schools:	Schools > School of Environment and Life Sciences
Journal or Publication Title:	Experimental parasitology
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	1090-2449
SWORD Depositor:	Publications Router
Depositing User:	Publications Router
Date Deposited:	17 Aug 2022 11:52
Last Modified:	01 Sep 2022 09:52
URI:	https://usir.salford.ac.uk/id/eprint/64191

Actions (login required)

Edit record (repository staff only)