Keratinocytes Drive the Epithelial Hyperplasia Key to Sea Lice Resistance in Coho Salmon

Sarah Salisbury*, Rose Ruiz Daniels, Sean Monaghan, James Bron, P.R. Villamayor, Ophélie Gervais, M.D. Fast, L. Sveen, Ross Houston, N. Robinson*, Diego Robledo

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

Background:
Salmonid species have followed markedly divergent evolutionary trajectories in their
interactions with sea lice. While sea lice parasitism poses significant economic, environmental, and animal welfare challenges for Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) aquaculture, coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) exhibit near-complete resistance to sea lice, achieved through a potent epithelial hyperplasia response leading to rapid louse detachment. The molecular mechanisms underlying these divergent responses to sea lice are unknown
Results:
We characterised the cellular and molecular responses of Atlantic salmon and coho salmon to sea lice using single-nuclei RNA sequencing. Juvenile fish were exposed to copepodid sea lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis), and lice-attached pelvic fin and skin samples were collected 12h, 24h, 36h, 48h, and 60h after exposure, along with control samples. Comparative analysis of control and treatment samples revealed an immune and wound-healing response that was common to both species, but attenuated in Atlantic salmon, potentially reflecting greater sea louse immunomodulation. Our results revealed unique but complementary roles of three layers of keratinocytes in the epithelial hyperplasia response leading to rapid sea lice rejectio n in coho salmon. Our results suggest that basal keratinocytes direct the expansion and mobility of intermediate and, especially, superficial keratinocytes, which eventually encapsulate the parasite.
Conclusions:
Our results highlight the key role of keratinocytes in coho salmon’s sea lice resistance, and the diverged biological response of the two salmonid host species when interacting with this
parasite. This study has identified key pathways and candidate genes that could be manipulated using various biotechnological solutions to improve Atlantic salmon sea lice resistance.
Original languageEnglish
Article number160
Pages (from-to)1-26
Number of pages26
JournalBMC Biology
Volume22
Issue number1
Early online date29 Jul 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 29 Jul 2024

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • snRNAseq
  • salmon
  • aquaculture
  • disease
  • parasite
  • sea lice
  • cell type
  • skin
  • immunity
  • wound-healing

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