Project description:Fish scales are an important reservoir of calcium and phosphorus and together with the skin function as an integrated barrier against environmental changes and external aggressors. Histological studies have revealed that the skin and scales regenerate rapidly in fish when they are lost or damaged. In the present manuscript the histological and molecular changes underlying skin and scale regeneration in fed and fasted sea bream (Sparus auratus) were studied using a microarray 3 and 7 days after scale removal to provide a comprehensive molecular understanding of the early stages of these processes. Histological analysis of skin/scales revealed 3 days after scale removal re-epithelisation had occurred and the scale pocket had formed. In animals with scales removed, there was significant up-regulation of genes involved in cell cycle regulation, cell proliferation and adhesion, immune response and antioxidant activities. The expression profiles of the fasted animals centred on maintaining energy homeostasis. The utilisation of fasting as a treatment emphasised the competing whole animal physiological requirements with regard to barrier repair, infection control and energy homeostasis. Gene expression of sea bream (Sparus auratus) skin and scales was analysed in normal and treated animals. Three different treatments were applied: 1. scales removal at day 0 of the experiment; 2. unfed fish 7 days prior the start of the experiment; and 3. scales removal at day 0 of the experiment of unfed fish 7 days prior the start of the experiment. Fish were sampled at two different days: day 3 and day 7 after scale removal. Five individuals from control and experimental groups were analysed for both sampling days (3 and 7), resulting in a total of 40 samples analysed by microarray.
Project description:Fish scales are an important reservoir of calcium and phosphorus and together with the skin function as an integrated barrier against environmental changes and external aggressors. Histological studies have revealed that the skin and scales regenerate rapidly in fish when they are lost or damaged. In the present manuscript the histological and molecular changes underlying skin and scale regeneration in fed and fasted sea bream (Sparus auratus) were studied using a microarray 3 and 7 days after scale removal to provide a comprehensive molecular understanding of the early stages of these processes. Histological analysis of skin/scales revealed 3 days after scale removal re-epithelisation had occurred and the scale pocket had formed. In animals with scales removed, there was significant up-regulation of genes involved in cell cycle regulation, cell proliferation and adhesion, immune response and antioxidant activities. The expression profiles of the fasted animals centred on maintaining energy homeostasis. The utilisation of fasting as a treatment emphasised the competing whole animal physiological requirements with regard to barrier repair, infection control and energy homeostasis.
Project description:A gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) microarray platform was developed to identify brain gene expression profiles in response to environmental concentrations of human pharmaceuticals.
Project description:Analysis of the gene expression profiles of Sparus aurata head kidney after infection with Photobaterium damselae piscicida. The expression levels of 21,497 sea bream transcripts, on both directions, 24 and 48 hours post-infection, were compared with the levels detected in uninfected individuals.
Project description:Chemical analysis of the compounds present in sediment, although informative, often is not indicative of the downstream biological effects that these contaminants exert on resident aquatic organisms. More direct molecular methods are needed to determine if marine life is affected by exposure to sediments. In this study, we used an aquatic multispecies microarray and q-PCR to investigate the effects on gene expression in juvenile sea bream (Sparus aurata) of two contaminated sediments defined as sediment 1 and 2 respectively, from marine areas in Northern Italy.
Project description:Sparicotylosis is an endemic parasitic disease across the Mediterranean Sea caused by the polyopisthocotylean monogenean Sparycotyle chrysophrii, which affects the gills of gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata). Current disease-management, mitigation and treatment strategies are scarce against sparicotylosis. In order to successfully develop more efficient therapeutic strategies against this disease, understanding which molecular mechanisms and metabolic pathways are altered in the host is critical. This study aims to elucidate how S. chrysophrii infection modulates giltheadd seea bream physiological status and to identify the main altered biological processes through plasma proteomics of the host.
Project description:In Sparus aurata, seasonal temperature variations outside the normal thermal range, may trigger physiological responses leading to pathologies and death. In the present study two groups of wild sea bream were exposed for 21 days to two temperature regimes: 16 ± 0.3 °C (control group) and 6.8 ± 0.3 °C (cold-exposed group). Samples were collected during the acute phase (0, 6 and 24 hours after temperature drop) and upon chronic exposure (21 days).