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Zebrafish ( Danio rerio ) as an animal model for bath infection by Flavobacterium psychrophilum
Author(s) -
AvendañoHerrera Ruben,
Benavides Isabella,
Espina Jaime A.,
SotoComte Daniela,
PobleteMorales Matías,
Valdés Juan A.,
Feijóo Carmen G.,
Reyes Ariel E.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of fish diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.819
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1365-2761
pISSN - 0140-7775
DOI - 10.1111/jfd.13156
Subject(s) - danio , zebrafish , biology , animal model , microbiology and biotechnology , zoology , genetics , gene , endocrinology
Abstract Flavobacterium psychrophilum is the causative agent of bacterial cold‐water disease and rainbow trout syndrome in freshwater salmonid fish worldwide, generating injuries and high mortality rates. Despite several studies on this bacterium, the infection mechanism remains unknown due to limitations in the employed animal models. In this work, we propose using zebrafish ( Danio rerio ) as a model for studying bacterial pathogenicity. To substantiate this proposal, zebrafish infection by F. psychrophilum strain JIP 02/86 was characterized. Zebrafish larvae were infected using the bath method, and morphological changes and innate immune system activation were monitored using transgenic fish. Salmonid‐like infection phenotypes were observed in 4.74% of treated larvae, as manifested by fin, muscle and caudal peduncle damage. Symptomatic and dead larvae accounted for 1.35% of all challenged larvae. Interestingly, infected larvae with no infection phenotypes showed stronger innate immune system activation than specimens with phenotypes. A failure of function assay for myeloid factor pu.1 resulted in more infected larvae (up to 43.5%), suggesting that low infection rates by F. psychrophilum would be due to the protective actions of the innate immune system against this bacterium in zebrafish larvae. Our results support the use of zebrafish as an infection model for studying F. psychrophilum . Furthermore, the percentage of infected fish can be modulated by disturbing, to varying extents, the differentiation of myeloid cells. Using this evidence as a starting point, different aspects of the infection mechanism of F. psychrophilum could be studied in vivo.