Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » Stoneville, Mississippi » Warmwater Aquaculture Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #388501
Research Project: Improving the Productivity and Quality of Catfish Aquaculture

Location: Warmwater Aquaculture Research Unit

Title: Interferons and Interferons receptors in the Channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus

Author
item Quiniou, Sylvie
item CRIDER, JONATHAN - University Of Mississippi Medical Center
item FELCH, KRISTIANNA - University Of Mississippi Medical Center
item BENGTEN, EVA - University Of Mississippi Medical Center
item BOUDINOT, PIERRE - National Research Institute For Agriculture, Food And Environment

Submitted to: Fish and Shellfish Immunology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/11/2022
Publication Date: 3/15/2022
Citation: Quiniou, S., Crider, J., Felch, K.L., Bengten, E., Boudinot, P. 2022. Interferons and Interferons receptors in the Channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus. Fish and Shellfish Immunology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fsi.2022.02.019.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fsi.2022.02.019

Interpretive Summary: Infectious diseases represent a major economical hindrance to Channel catfish production. Interferons (IFN) are key soluble factors of the natural antiviral immunity of vertebrate animals, from fish to human. Scientists at the USDA, ARS, Warmwater Aquaculture Research Unit in Stoneville, MS, along with scientists from INRAE at Jouy-en-Josas, France and from UMMC at Jackson, MS, used data mining from state-of-the art genomic data and comparative analyses to identify the complete repertoire of IFN and their receptors in Channel catfish. This species is the most important farmed freshwater fish in the US, and findings provide important information for advanced genetic selection of more robust, disease-resistant fish stocks.

Technical Abstract: In this work, we describe the complete repertoire of channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, IFNs and IFN receptor genes. Based on multiple genomic and transcriptomic resources we identified 16 type I IFN genes, which represent the six type I IFN subgroups previously defined in salmonids (a-f.) No representatives of subgroup h previously only found in percomorphs were identified. An expansion in copy numbers of subgroup d IFN genes was of particular interest, as this has not been reported in other fish species to date. Furthermore, two type II ifn genes encoding orthologs of IFN gamma and the teleost-specific IFN gamma Rel were identified. Six homologs of IFN type I receptor genes were found in an array that shows conserved synteny with human chromosome 21. Three homologs of type II IFN receptor genes were also identified. These type I and type II receptor sequences are compatible with the dual type I IFN receptors, and the potentially more complex type II IFN receptors described in teleosts. Our data provide a comprehensive resource for future studies of channel catfish innate antiviral immunity.