Project description:This project aimed to assess the toxicity underlying the exposure of Turbot (Scophthalmus maximus), an economically valuable fish species, to TiO2 and Ag nanoparticles (NPs). To carry out the study, juvenile fish were exposed to TiO2 and Ag NPs incorporated in the diet. After 14 days of exposure fish were euthanized and liver and kidney samples collected for proteomics. The shotgun proteomics analysis revealed quantitative changes in multiple proteins. The results suggest effects of TiO2 and Ag NPs in energy/lipid metabolism and for instance alterations in ribosome functions, protein biosynthesis and related processes. This proteomic study provided as well candidate biomarkers for NPs exposure in aquaculture species.
Project description:Turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) is a valuable resource for aquaculture in Galicia (NW Spain). Since it has been observed that viral hemorraghic septicaemia can affect turbot, among other finfish, increase of knowledge in molecular factors affected by the exposure to pathogen could help to develop strategies of VHSV prevention and treatment. In this study, it has been used a custom oligo-microarray by Agilent to identify genes differentially expressed in several turbot families showing different susceptibility to VHSV. Fishes from each family (n=30) were injected with either VHSV (Resistant) or control medium (Naive) and monitored for 30 days, when each group was splitted in two new groups and rechallenged with VHSV (Infected) or control medium (Control). Gene expression at the head kidney was evaluated, showing than an important proportion of the variation of the gene expression profiles is explained by the genetic background (family). After infection, fish showed an up-regulation of the interferon-induced Mx2 gene, the IL-8 gene and the VHSV-induced protein 5 gene compared with control groups. Familes with high mortality after VHSV infection showed lower levels of expression of molecules secreted in the mucus and, by contrast, higher expression of genes involved in viral entrance into target cells.
Project description:Turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) is a valuable resource for aquaculture in Galicia (NW Spain). Since it has been observed that viral hemorraghic septicaemia can affect turbot, among other finfish, increase of knowledge in molecular factors affected by the exposure to pathogen could help to develop strategies of VHSV prevention and treatment. In this study, it has been used a custom oligo-microarray by Agilent to identify genes differentially expressed in several turbot families showing different susceptibility to VHSV. Fishes from each family (n=30) were injected with either VHSV (Resistant) or control medium (Naive) and monitored for 30 days, when each group was splitted in two new groups and rechallenged with VHSV (Infected) or control medium (Control). Gene expression at the head kidney was evaluated, showing than an important proportion of the variation of the gene expression profiles is explained by the genetic background (family). After infection, fish showed an up-regulation of the interferon-induced Mx2 gene, the IL-8 gene and the VHSV-induced protein 5 gene compared with control groups. Familes with high mortality after VHSV infection showed lower levels of expression of molecules secreted in the mucus and, by contrast, higher expression of genes involved in viral entrance into target cells. 4 different families of turbot were subjected to challenged with VHSV and splitted after 30 days in 2
Project description:With the aim of shedding light on the protection conferred by the DNA vaccines based in the G glycoprotein of viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus (VHSV) in turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) we have used a specific microarray highly enriched in antiviral sequences to carry out the transcriptomic study associated to VHSV DNA vaccination/infection. The differential gene expression pattern in response to empty plasmid (pMCV1.4) and DNA vaccine (pMCV1.4-G860) intramuscular administration with regard to non-stimulated turbot was analyzed in head kidney at 8, 24 and 72 hours post-vaccination. Moreover, the effect of VHSV infection one month after immunization was also analyzed in vaccinated and non-vaccinated fish at the same time points.
Project description:Scophthalmus maximus spleen proteome after polyI:C-injection under high or low temperature were compared by iTRAQ(isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation).
Project description:Background: Enteromyxosis caused by the intestinal myxozoan parasite Enteromyxum scophthalmi is a serious threat for turbot (Scophthalmus maximus, L.) aquaculture, causing severe catarrhal enteritis leading to a cachectic syndrome, with no therapeutic options available. There are still many aspects of host-parasite interaction and disease pathogenesis that are yet to be elucidated, and to date, no analysis of the transcriptomic changes induced by E. scophthalmi in turbot organs has been conducted. In this study, RNA-seq technology was applied to head kidney, spleen and pyloric caeca of severely infected turbot with the aim of furthering our understanding of the pathogenetic mechanisms and turbot immune response against enteromyxosis. Results: A huge amount of information was generated with more than 23,000 identified genes in the three organs, amongst which 4,762 were differently expressed (DE) between infected and control fish. Associate gene functions were studied based on gene ontology terms and available literature, and the most interesting DE genes were classified into five categories: 1) immune and defence response; 2) apoptosis and cell proliferation; 3) iron metabolism and erythropoiesis; 4) cytoskeleton and extracellular matrix and 5) metabolism and digestive function. The analysis of down-regulated genes of the first category revealed evidences of a connexion failure between innate and adaptive immune response, especially represented by a high number of DE interferon-related genes in the three organs. Furthermore, we found an intense activation of local immune response at intestinal level that appeared exacerbated, whereas in kidney and spleen genes involved in adaptive immune response were mainly down-regulated. The apoptotic machinery was only clearly activated in pyloric caeca, while kidney and spleen showed a marked depression of genes related to erythropoiesis, probably related to disorders in iron homeostasis. The genetic signature of the causes and consequences of cachexia was also demonstrated by the down-regulation of the genes encoding structural proteins and those involved in the digestive metabolism. Conclusions: This transcriptomic study has enabled us to gain a better understanding of the pathogenesis of enteromyxosis and identify a large number of DE target genes that bring us closer to the development of strategies designed to effectively combat this pathogen.
Project description:Background: Enteromyxosis caused by the intestinal myxozoan parasite Enteromyxum scophthalmi is a serious threat for turbot (Scophthalmus maximus, L.) aquaculture, causing severe catarrhal enteritis leading to a cachectic syndrome, with no therapeutic options available. There are still many aspects of host-parasite interaction and disease pathogenesis that are yet to be elucidated, and to date, no analysis of the transcriptomic changes induced by E. scophthalmi in turbot organs has been conducted. In this study, RNA-seq technology was applied to head kidney, spleen and pyloric caeca of severely infected turbot with the aim of furthering our understanding of the pathogenetic mechanisms and turbot immune response against enteromyxosis. Results: A huge amount of information was generated with more than 23,000 identified genes in the three organs, amongst which 4,762 were differently expressed (DE) between infected and control fish. Associate gene functions were studied based on gene ontology terms and available literature, and the most interesting DE genes were classified into five categories: 1) immune and defence response; 2) apoptosis and cell proliferation; 3) iron metabolism and erythropoiesis; 4) cytoskeleton and extracellular matrix and 5) metabolism and digestive function. The analysis of down-regulated genes of the first category revealed evidences of a connexion failure between innate and adaptive immune response, especially represented by a high number of DE interferon-related genes in the three organs. Furthermore, we found an intense activation of local immune response at intestinal level that appeared exacerbated, whereas in kidney and spleen genes involved in adaptive immune response were mainly down-regulated. The apoptotic machinery was only clearly activated in pyloric caeca, while kidney and spleen showed a marked depression of genes related to erythropoiesis, probably related to disorders in iron homeostasis. The genetic signature of the causes and consequences of cachexia was also demonstrated by the down-regulation of the genes encoding structural proteins and those involved in the digestive metabolism. Conclusions: This transcriptomic study has enabled us to gain a better understanding of the pathogenesis of enteromyxosis and identify a large number of DE target genes that bring us closer to the development of strategies designed to effectively combat this pathogen. Four samples per organ (kidney, spleen and pyloric caeca) were sequenced by Illumina HiSeq 2000 as 100bp paired-end reads. For each organ, three samples were taken from Enteromyxum severely infected turbot and the remaining one was a pool of three control turbot.
Project description:An EST database from immune tissues was used to design the first high density turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) oligo-microarray with the aim of identifying candidate genes for tolerance to pathogens. Specific oligonucleotides (60mers) were successfully designed for 2716 out of 3482 unique sequences of the database. The performance of the microarray and the sources of variation along microarray analysis were examined on spleen pools of controls and Aeromonas salmonicida challenged fish at 3 days post-infection. An asymmetric hierarchical design was employed to ascertain the noise associated with biological and technical (RNA extraction, labeling, hybridization, slide and dye bias) factors using one-colour (1C) and two-colour (2C) -labeling approaches. The high correlation coefficient between replicates at most factors tested demonstrated the high reproducibility of the signal. An analysis of random effects variance revealed that technical variation was mostly negligible and biological variation represented the main factor, even using pooled samples. One-colour approach performed at least as well as 2C. A relevant proportion of genes turn out to be differentially labelled depending on fluorophore, which alerts for the likely need of swapping replication in 2C experiments. A set of differentially expressed genes and enriched functions related to immune/defence response were detected at three days post-challenging.