Project description:This study aims to understand the molecular adaptation mechanisms of fish gills to environmental Ca2+ changes. Using SuperSAGE, we compared the gene expression profiles of T. nigroviridis gills transferred from natural brackish water (10 ppt salinity,2.9 mM Ca2+) to artificial brackish water with control (2.9 mM), low (0.01 mM) or high (10 mM) Ca2+ concentrations for 2 or 12h.
Project description:Chemical signals are produced by aquatic organisms following predatory attacks or perturbations such as parasitic infection. Ectoparasites feeding on host fish are likely to cause release of similar alarm cues into the environment due to the stress, wounding and immune response stimulated upon infection. Alarm cues are often released in the form of proteins and peptides and provide important insights into bodily function and infection status. Here we outline a non-invasive method to identify potential chemical cues associated with infection in fish by extracting, purifying and characterizing proteins from water samples from cultured fish. Gel free proteomic methods were deemed the most suitable for protein detection in saline water samples. It was confirmed that proteins could be characterized from teleost water samples and that variation in protein profiles could be detected between infected and uninfected individuals and fish and parasite only water samples. Our novel assay provides a non-invasive method for assessing the health condition of both wild and farmed aquatic organisms. Similar to environmental DNA monitoring methods, these proteomic techniques could provide an important tool in applied biology and aquaculture biology
