Development and Validation of Immune Response Genetic Markers to Infectious Salmon Anemia Virus (ISA)

Description

Infectious diseases present a significant economic burden to finfish aquaculture industries and there is concern that diseases may also negatively impact wild fish populations. Increasingly, genomic tools are being used to investigate diseases of fish and their causative agents and are beginning to provide scientists, clinicians and regulators with management options. Despite this, very little is known about the diseases and pathogens affecting Canadian finfish culture industries or adjacent wild populations.

Infectious salmon anemia virus (ISAV) is an important virus pathogen of salmonids and causes mass mortalities. It remains a recurrent problem in Eastern Canada and Maine since the initial epizootics of 1996.

This study will be taking genomic approach using DNA microchips to better understand the immune response of Atlantic salmon to ISAV and to identify genetic markers of this response. Validation of these genetic markers in vivo will provide tools to study disease and recovery from disease, resistance to clinical disease, or response to vaccination.

Program Name

Aquaculture Collaborative Research and Development Program (ACRDP)

Year(s)

2007 - 2009

Ecoregion(s)

Atlantic: Gulf of St. Lawrence, St. Lawrence Estuary

Principal Investigator(s)

Nellie Gagné
Email: Nellie.Gagne@dfo-mpo.gc.ca