Innate immunity of teleosts

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

My research program and the studies outlined in the present short-term objectives are designed to better understand innate resistance of fish to infectious disease. Aquaculture is responsible for up to half of all fish protein consumed worldwide and infectious disease is an important cause of lost production. Aquaculture is a growth industry for Canada and will continue to expand and support Canadian jobs in the future. The cost-benefit ratio (relatively low cost per unit product) for fish health requires that we identify innate markers for resistance to infectious disease to provide enhanced survival, without heavy reliance on antimicrobials or expensive products. We have used functional binding assays to identify serum proteins that bind to bacteria and virus. We have identified proteins that are highly likely relevant for resistance to specific pathogens and this research will address some of the mechanisms by which fish recognize and eliminate infectious agents. We now wish to examine specific roles of one of these proteins, intelectin, in resistance to