Physiological and molecular interplay between stress and immune responses in Atlantic salmon

Aquaculture is the fastest growing human food sector worldwide. Global consumption of farm produced fish and shellfish has exceeded that from wild capture fisheries with further growth being crucial to the improvement of human food security globally. The UK Atlantic salmon industry is currently worth > £1.8 Billion per year to the UK economy. However, reduction of stress in aquaculture practices and improved fish growth and disease resilience are key challenges that need to be addressed to improve sustainability and industry growth. Stress associated with fish handling leads to suppressed immunity and increased disease susceptibility, with crosstalk between stress and immune responses not fully understood. This project will, therefore, utilize physiological and cutting-edge molecular approaches to gain a deeper understanding of stress and immune interactions during health and disease. New data will help pinpoint gene markers that to help inform on future stress and disease mitigation strategies in fish management practices.
Recent results from our lab have begun to unravel fish immune and stress interactions. This PhD will use whole animal and cell culture models to investigate (non)infectious stressors and how key stress hormones and immune proteins influence immune and endocrine cells respectively. In vitro and in vivo work will incorporate single cell transcriptomic sequencing (scRNA-Seq) combining physiological and state-of-the-art molecular techniques. scRNA-Seq will differentiate fish immune and stress hormone-producing cells under different physiological conditions, enabling a deep understanding of fish immune-endocrine interactions during health and disease.
This project is highly relevant to the improvement of Atlantic salmon production and links to existing collaborative projects at the Scottish Fish Immunology Research Centre (SFIRC) at Aberdeen and Stirling. The project will be supervised by Dr Holland and Prof Martin at University of Aberdeen and Dr Monaghan at University of Stirling. SFIRC is a world leader in fish immunology with a focus on fish health, host-pathogen interactions and nutrition using state-of-the-art functional gemomics, including scRNA-Seq available within Aberdeen's Centre for Genome Enabled Biology and Medicine. SFIRC labs are equipped for physiological, cellular, and molecular approaches with access to state-of-the-art aquarium and pathogen challenge facilities. Excellent training opportunities are available in cell culture, molecular and physiological techniques, including respirometry, histology, qRT-PCR, and enzyme-based assays to determine serum hormone levels. All training needs will be provided by the project team, including bioinformatics at Aberdeen and other courses as required.
References:
(1) Castro R, Zou Z, Secombes CJ, Martin, SAM (2011). Cortisol modulates the induction of inflammatory gene expression in a rainbow trout macrophage cell line. Fish & shellfish immunology 30 (1), 215-223
(2) Faber, M; Yoon, S; Shaw, S; de Paiva Alves, E; Wang, B; Qi, Z; Okamura, B; Hartikainen, H; Secombes, CJ; Holland, JW (2021). Comparative transcriptomics and host-specific parasite gene expression profiles inform on drivers of proliferative kidney disease. Scientific Reports, 11, 2149.
(3) West, AC; Mizoro, Y; Wood, SH; Ince, LM; Iversen, M; Jorgensen, EH; Nome, T; Sandve, SR; Martin, SAM; Loudon, ASI; Hazlerigg, DG (2021). Immunologic profiling of the Atlantic salmon gill by single nuclei transcriptomics. Frontiers in Immunology, 12, Art No: 669889.
(4) Chang YC, Hamlin-Wright H, Monaghan S, Herath T, Baily J, Del Pozo J, Downes J, Preston A, Chalmers L, Jayasuriya N, Bron JE, Adams A, Fridman S. Changes in distribution, morphology and ultrastructure of chloride cell in Atlantic salmon during an AGD infection. J Fish Dis. 2019 Oct;42(10):1433-1446. doi: 10.1111/jfd.13073. Epub 2019 Aug 20. PMID: 31429104.