Putting a shell on oyster disease: Exploring genetics and metabolomics of the parasite Bonamia to prevent pathogen spread

Oysters are incredible animals. They purify water, sequester carbon, engineer habitats, and
protect our shores from extreme weather. In addition, farmed oysters nourish millions of people
across the globe each day. Over the past two centuries, the UK native oyster, Ostrea edulis, has
been decimated by overfishing, climate change and pathogenic diseases such as the parasite
Bonamia ostreae. In order to redress this change, a number of schemes are attempting to restore
native oysters to the waters around the UK, primarily by transplanting animals from healthy
aquaculture sites back to ancient strongholds from which they have long since been purged. As
such, it has once again become crucial that the movement of pathogens, alongside the
mechanisms and process through which infection takes place, can be analysed and redressed. In
this project, the student will explore the biology and genetics of Bonamia in the context of
Scottish native oyster populations. Our knowledge of the routes through which Bonamia spreads
is currently limited, and this work will provide some of the first measures of diversity within
parasite populations, informing critical management decisions. Additionally, recent studies have
suggested that some populations of oysters may have greater resistance to the pathogen. Further
to this, the student will work across groups at Roslin to develop laboratory techniques to study
the interaction between oyster and pathogen.
The student will study population genetics of the parasite, travelling to field sites around the UK
to capture samples and returning them to the lab for analysis. The student will then work with the
parasite in the Roslin Institute laboratory, running disease challenges, developing techniques to
culture parasite and oyster cells in vitro, and analysing the outcomes with a combination of
traditional biology and cutting-edge molecular biology based tools including gene-expression and
metabolomics. The Roslin Institute is a world-leading centre for aquaculture science and genetics
and the successful candidate will be welcomed into a growing team of researchers studying
disease and genetics in aquaculture. The student will be expected to travel nationally and internationally and work effectively in laboratory and field settings. The applicant will have a keen
interest in aquaculture science, environmental science, and pathogen biology. This project will
require skills in fieldwork, bioinformatics, population genetics, metabolomics and molecular and
cell biology techniques. Training will be provided for the right candidate, but experience in some
or all of these areas is desirable.