Molecular epidemiology of Neoparamoeba perurans, causative agent of amoebic gill disease (AGD) in farmed salmonids

养殖鲑鱼阿米巴鳃病 (AGD) 病原体秘鲁新帕拉米巴的分子流行病学

• 批准号: 2870109
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Stirling
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2870109
• 关键词: Molecular; epidemiology; Neoparamoeba; perurans; causative

The amoeba Neoparamoeba perurans is the causative agent of Amoebic Gill Disease (AGD), one of the most significant health challenges faced by the global marine salmonid aquaculture industry. Treatments for AGD enable salmon producers to improve salmon welfare and reduce mortality, but the disease often returns in the same production cycle to the same fish. Although we are starting to understand more about N. perurans and its interaction with the host, there remains little known about the phylogeographic history and population genetics in relation to its distribution, abundance and evolutionary process that influence its epidemiology. As an important global pathogen, it is important to start understanding its transmission routes and molecular variation. Different variants of the parasite have been suggested to have emerged globally but there have been few studies that have attempted to identify the total number of variants, found within a particular locality nor have there been any attempts to assess the potential movement of such variants within and between farms. This PhD will use elements of both classic epidemiology and molecular epidemiology to assess movement and connectivity between fish farms and provide essential insights into transmission. The project will utilise both archived and contemporary samples to provide insights into the molecular population genetic structure of N. perurans in Scotland. Similarly, phylodynamic analyses will be employed to assess movement between infected sites. To achieve this, we will employ already established nuclear and mitochondrial molecular markers and will also attempt to develop new markers to assess fine scale evolutionary processes which could affect the transmission and epidemiology of the parasite. Within Scotland's salmon aquaculture, field samples will form a basis for answering epidemiological questions, such as what the prevalence of AGD is, and can we quantify and explain infection pressure. Open-source data such as environmental variables obtained from satellite data will be used to complement existing data for meta-analysis. An overall understanding of the molecular epidemiology of N. perurans will enable us to provide better recommendations for health management of AGD. Successful candidates will have the opportunity to work within internationally recognised teams at Epidemiological Research Unit of Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) and Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling and to receive training in cutting-edge epidemiological analysis, molecular biology, and parasitological techniques.

新阿米巴是全球海洋鲑鱼养殖业面临的最大健康挑战之一的阿米巴鳃病(AGD)的病原体。对AGD的治疗使三文鱼生产者能够改善三文鱼的福利并降低死亡率，但这种疾病往往在同一生产周期内重新出现在相同的鱼身上。虽然我们开始更多地了解Perurans及其与宿主的相互作用，但关于其分布、丰度和影响其流行病学的进化过程，人们对其系统地理历史和种群遗传学知之甚少。作为一种重要的全球性病原体，了解其传播途径和分子变异具有重要意义。这种寄生虫的不同变种被认为是在全球范围内出现的，但很少有研究试图确定在特定地区发现的变种的总数，也没有任何尝试评估这些变种在农场内和农场之间的潜在移动。这一博士学位将使用经典流行病学和分子流行病学的要素来评估养鱼场之间的流动和连通性，并提供对传播的基本见解。该项目将利用存档的和当代的样本来深入了解苏格兰Perurans的分子种群遗传结构。同样，系统动力学分析将被用来评估受感染地点之间的移动。为了实现这一目标，我们将使用已经建立的核和线粒体分子标记，并将尝试开发新的标记，以评估可能影响寄生虫传播和流行病学的精细进化过程。在苏格兰的鲑鱼水产养殖中，现场样本将构成回答流行病学问题的基础，例如AGD的流行率是多少，以及我们能否量化和解释感染压力。将使用从卫星数据获得的环境变量等开放源码数据来补充现有数据，以进行荟萃分析。全面了解贝氏新城疫的分子流行病学将使我们能够为该病的健康管理提供更好的建议。成功的候选人将有机会在苏格兰乡村学院(SRUC)流行病学研究部和斯特林大学水产养殖研究所的国际公认团队中工作，并接受尖端流行病学分析、分子生物学和寄生虫学技术方面的培训。