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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Leetown, West Virginia » Cool and Cold Water Aquaculture Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #352754
Research Project: Integrated Research to Improve On-Farm Animal Health in Salmonid Aquaculture

Location: Cool and Cold Water Aquaculture Research

Title: Rainbow trout genetic resistance to bacterial cold water disease: Contribution of interleukin-1 receptor-like 1 genes

Author
item Shaw, Cassidy
item Gao, Guangtu
item Wiens, Gregory - Greg

Submitted to: Society of Developmental Comparative Immunology
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/4/2018
Publication Date: 6/20/2018
Citation: Shaw, C.H., Gao, G., Wiens, G.D. 2018. Rainbow trout genetic resistance to bacterial cold water disease: Contribution of interleukin-1 receptor-like 1 genes [abstract]. Society of Developmental Comparative Immunology. 14:144.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Host genetic variation in susceptibility to pathogens is present in most animal populations, especially aquatic animals due to outbred origin and short domestication history. Recent progress in high-throughput animal health phenotyping combined with quantitative genetic analysis has demonstrated the feasibility of improving disease resistance through selective breeding. At the National Center for Cool and Cold Water Aquaculture, we maintain a large, fully-pedigreed population bred for five generations to increase resistance against bacterial cold water disease (BCWD), a frequent cause of mortality in farmed rainbow trout. We have also developed background-matched susceptible- and randomly-mated control-lines for understanding mechanisms of resistance to the causative agent, Flavobacterium psychrophilum. Herein, we report potential candidate genes located within a disease resistance locus on chromosome Omy03. The rainbow trout genome (Swanson clonal line) contains three tandem, interleukin-1 receptor-like 1 genes (il1rl1-alpha, beta and gamma) whose predicted proteins exhibiting >95% amino acid sequence homology. The mRNA of each gene was detected in fifteen tissues of healthy rainbow trout except for il1rl1-beta which was not detected in white muscle. Il1rl1-alpha expression in the whole bodies of juvenile rainbow trout, as measured by RNA-seq, was 68-fold higher relative to il1rl1-beta and 45-fold higher relative to il1rl1-gamma. Gene expression of il1rl1-alpha was significantly higher in resistant- line as compared to susceptible-line rainbow trout. Mapping of the causative difference between genetic lines is ongoing. Gene characterization contributes to an increased understanding of the genetic basis of disease resistance.