Marine

Study on blue mussels and amoebic gill disease in farmed salmon published

February 16, 2016 by Marine Scotland Communications No Comments | Category Collaborations, Marine Collaboration Research Forum (MarCRF), Marine Directorate general, Marine Directorate Science

Each year amoebic gill disease (AGD) affects Atlantic salmon farms across Scotland leading to swollen and infected gills in the salmon. As part of the Marine Collaborations Research Forum (MarCRF) Christine Rolin (pictured right) had the opportunity as a Masters student at the University of Aberdeen in 2014 to work with scientists in the Marine Scotland laboratories.

Blue mussels can be co-cultured with salmon in integrated aquaculture or naturally grow on or near salmon cages. The study investigated whether the blue mussel acted as an environmental reservoir or biological control for the water-borne pathogen for AGD by using cultures kept at MSS and molecular diagnostics to quantify DNA. In tanks with mussels we observed a rapid reduction in the amount of the amoeba in the water, this suggests mussels may act as a biological control in effect filtering out the amoeba from the seawater. What this means in practical terms is that mussels do not appear to pose a risk for transmission of AGD to salmon but may in fact be beneficial as a tool in disease management by potentially lowering densities of the pathogen in the seawater.

As a MarCRF student Christine got an opportunity to work with alongside MSS scientists and get an insight into what it is like working at MSS. She also presented the research at Aquaculture UK 2014 and the Fish Veterinary Society Annual Meeting 2015.

The results have now been published in Aquaculture and can be accessed for free through this link until the 28th March: http://authors.elsevier.com/a/1SU~-ACeXrzwF or be requested from Christine Rolin (c.rolin.09@aberdeen.ac.uk).

Further Information

• Marine Scotland Science
• Other MarCRF blogs

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