Ghanei-Motlagh Reza, Cai Wenlong, Poley Jordan D, Whyte Shona K, Garber Amber F, Fast Mark D
Hoplite Research Lab, Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PE, Canada.
Huntsman Marine Science Centre, St. Andrews, NB, Canada.
Front Genet. 2025 Jul 29;16:1633603. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2025.1633603. eCollection 2025.
Sea lice () infestation continues to pose a persistent and escalating challenge to the global salmon aquaculture industry. Given the complexity of host-parasite interactions, family-based transcriptomic studies provide crucial insights into genetic variation in host responses to sea lice, potentially guiding the development of selective breeding programs to manage parasite resistance in Atlantic salmon. This study investigated global gene expression (transcriptomic) responses of the skin and head kidney of Atlantic salmon () from different families following infestation at two distinct stages of sea lice, chalimus II and adult, under varying temperature conditions (10°C and 20°C). RNA sequencing results revealed consistent expression of lice-responsive genes across different families under varying thermal conditions, which allowed the identification of potential biomarkers associated with adult-stage compared to chalimus-stage infestations. Our findings highlight critical physiological disruptions in salmon infested with advanced (adult) stages of lice, including uncontrolled and persistent inflammation, dampened/dysregulated immune responses, and impaired tissue repair at attachment sites. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the transcriptomic responses of Atlantic salmon to different developmental stages of sea lice under specific temperature conditions (10°C and 20°C), and identifies several novel molecular markers from RNA-seq analysis that may be instrumental in developing targeted control strategies for this economically important parasite.
海虱（）感染持续给全球鲑鱼养殖业带来持久且不断升级的挑战。鉴于宿主 - 寄生虫相互作用的复杂性，基于家系的转录组学研究为宿主对海虱反应中的基因变异提供了关键见解，有可能指导选择性育种计划的制定，以管理大西洋鲑对寄生虫的抗性。本研究调查了不同家系的大西洋鲑（）在海虱感染的两个不同阶段（无节幼体II期和成虫期）、不同温度条件（10°C和20°C）下，其皮肤和头肾的全球基因表达（转录组）反应。RNA测序结果显示，在不同热条件下，不同家系中虱子反应基因的表达一致，这使得能够识别与成虫期感染相比，无节幼体期感染相关的潜在生物标志物。我们的研究结果突出了感染晚期（成虫期）虱子的鲑鱼的关键生理紊乱，包括不受控制的持续性炎症、免疫反应减弱/失调以及附着部位的组织修复受损。本研究全面分析了特定温度条件（10°C和20°C）下大西洋鲑对海虱不同发育阶段的转录组反应，并从RNA测序分析中鉴定出几个新的分子标记，这些标记可能有助于为这种具有经济重要性的寄生虫制定靶向控制策略。
