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Immune-informed tools for the prevention of bacterial and parasitic diseases in oysters
Marta Gomez-Chiarri*1, Tejashree Modak1, Erin Roberts1, Rebecca Stevick2, Evelyn Takyi1, David Nelson3, David Rowley4
1 Department of Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Science, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, USA, 2 Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, USA. 3 Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, USA, 4 Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, USAABSTRACT
The American oyster Crassostrea virginica is an ecologically and economically important species in the Northwest Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. Wild and cultured populations of this organism are impacted by a variety of bacterial and parasitic pathogens. We have taken advantage of the recently assembled sequence of the American oyster to inform the development of tools for disease prevention in oyster aquaculture, including probiotics and selective breeding for disease resistance. Evaluation of the response of C. virginica larvae to probiotics Bacillus pumilus RI0695 and Phaeobacter inhibens S4 showed immunostimulation, as evidenced by high levels of expression of the genes involved in pathogen recognition, immune signaling pathways, apoptosis and effectors such as protease inhibitors, mucins and perforin-2. In contrast, larvae exposed to the bacterial pathogen Vibrio coralliilyticus RE22 showed evidence of immunosuppression. Transcriptome analysis of lines of oysters with varying levels of resistance to the bacterial pathogen Aliiroseovarius crassostreae and the protozoan parasite Perkinsus marinus support the potential importance of serine protease inhibitors and genes in cell-death pathways in disease resistance. Analysis of bivalve genomes, combined with resequencing data from 96 oysters collected at sites from Texas to Maine also showed the evolutionary significance of apoptosis, as illustrated with significant expansions in the number of genes in families related to apoptosis control. This information can be applied to the improvement of strategies geared to prevent diseases in oysters.
BIOSKETCH
Marta is an aquatic pathologist. She coordinates the interdisciplinary Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems undergraduate program, a major that explores the food chain, from farm to plate to waste and back, emphasizing sustainability, impacts on human health, and resilience from economic, environmental, and societal viewpoints. She is also the coordinator of graduate programs in the department of Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Science. Marta’s research interests include the use of multidisciplinary approaches to the prevention and management of diseases in marine organisms, from probiotics and microbial-microbial interactions to genomics and comparative immunology. Her collaborative national and international research on marine diseases is driven by a desire to ensure equitable access to healthy food that is sustainably produced.