A new study from the Norwegian Institute of Food, Fisheries, and Aquaculture Research (Nofima) has analyzed different salmon species' immune responses to sea lice attacks, hoping to enhance the responses of Atlantic salmon in the future.
The study came from a team at Nofima called CrispResist, which has been studying interactions between salmon and lice for the last four years in the hopes of identifying gene mechanisms responsible for certain salmon species' resistance to sea lice. The team hopes to use its findings to utilize genetic traits and mechanisms from species that have better immune responses to sea lice, like coho, chum, and pink salmon, to achieve higher lice resistance in Atlantic salmon, mainly through Crispr gene editing technology.
In order to aehive this goal, CrispResist first needs to understand why some species fare better against sea lice than Atlantic salmon, which are highly vulnerable.
“We have never been closer to the answer about how species like coho defeat sea lice, and these new findings have sparked several new ideas for further research that will bring us closer to solutions for Atlantic salmon,” Nofima researcher and lead study author Lene Sveen said.
The study showed that the immune systems of coho salmon respond very quickly to sea lice attacks. In coho, a sea lice bite triggers a powerful inflammatory reaction within two days of attachment.
“If the salmon can respond quickly enough, it can prevent the louse from gaining a foothold,” Nofima project lead Nick Robinson said.
By contrast, Atlantic salmon mount much weaker inflammatory responses. One key difference between the two species, the study found, is that the salmon species which are resistant to lice have a high density of mucous cells in their skin.
The CrispResist project is the result of a partnership between Nofima, the University of Edinburgh, the University of Prince Edward Island, the University of Stirling, Bigelow Laboratory of Ocean Sciences, the University of Bergen, the University of Gothenburg, Rothamsted Research, the Institute of Marine Research, Deakin University, Benchmark Genetics, Mowi, and Salmar. It is funded by the Norwegian Seafood Research Fund (FHF).
