Our world is changing. Global warming and anthropogenic activities are culminating in devastating consequences to aquatic habitats and to the numerous cold-blooded vertebrate species that inhabit them. Together with overcrowding in aquaculture settings, these changes are seeing the emergence of new and opportunistic pathogens that are decimating wild and cultured aquatic animal populations. With these growing environmental and economic concerns, we are charged with developing measures through which to counteract and prevent such infection outbreaks. However, this requires further advances in our current understanding of the immunological successes and shortcomings of these poikilothermic vertebrates when dealing with infectious agents. In general, aquatic vertebrates such as cartilaginous/bony fish and amphibians possess many hallmarks associated with mammalian immunity but have also adopted some unique strategies for immune cell development and antimicrobial defenses. Arguably, these animals possess much less proficient adaptive immune systems and must thus rely more heavily on their innate immune defenses for controlling infectious agents. Indeed, the immune systems of poikilothermic vertebrates have already been shown to possess several key differences from terrestrial mammals. These include, but are not limited to distinct repertoires of key cytokines and cell signaling components, disparate leukocyte differentiation pathways, and unique pathogen recognition strategies.
This Research Topic coalesces the recent advances in the understanding of aquatic vertebrate immune defenses, the emerging pathogens that plague them, and the interfaces between these pathogens and their cold-blooded host immune systems. As such, this Research Topic serves as a dedicated overview of recent progress in research areas related to aquatic vertebrate host innate immune responses and host-pathogen interactions, including:
1. Emerging eukaryotic, prokaryotic, or viral pathogens of aquatic/cold-blooded vertebrate animals such as fish, amphibians, or reptiles.
2. The development and/or functional differentiation of the innate immune responses of poikilothermic vertebrates.
3. Immune recognition and/or innate immune responses of cold-blooded vertebrates to emerging pathogens.
4. Immune evasion strategies and/or interactions of emerging pathogens of poikilothermic vertebrate animals.
We welcome the submission of Original Research, Methods, Review, and Mini-Review articles to this Research Topic.
Our world is changing. Global warming and anthropogenic activities are culminating in devastating consequences to aquatic habitats and to the numerous cold-blooded vertebrate species that inhabit them. Together with overcrowding in aquaculture settings, these changes are seeing the emergence of new and opportunistic pathogens that are decimating wild and cultured aquatic animal populations. With these growing environmental and economic concerns, we are charged with developing measures through which to counteract and prevent such infection outbreaks. However, this requires further advances in our current understanding of the immunological successes and shortcomings of these poikilothermic vertebrates when dealing with infectious agents. In general, aquatic vertebrates such as cartilaginous/bony fish and amphibians possess many hallmarks associated with mammalian immunity but have also adopted some unique strategies for immune cell development and antimicrobial defenses. Arguably, these animals possess much less proficient adaptive immune systems and must thus rely more heavily on their innate immune defenses for controlling infectious agents. Indeed, the immune systems of poikilothermic vertebrates have already been shown to possess several key differences from terrestrial mammals. These include, but are not limited to distinct repertoires of key cytokines and cell signaling components, disparate leukocyte differentiation pathways, and unique pathogen recognition strategies.
This Research Topic coalesces the recent advances in the understanding of aquatic vertebrate immune defenses, the emerging pathogens that plague them, and the interfaces between these pathogens and their cold-blooded host immune systems. As such, this Research Topic serves as a dedicated overview of recent progress in research areas related to aquatic vertebrate host innate immune responses and host-pathogen interactions, including:
1. Emerging eukaryotic, prokaryotic, or viral pathogens of aquatic/cold-blooded vertebrate animals such as fish, amphibians, or reptiles.
2. The development and/or functional differentiation of the innate immune responses of poikilothermic vertebrates.
3. Immune recognition and/or innate immune responses of cold-blooded vertebrates to emerging pathogens.
4. Immune evasion strategies and/or interactions of emerging pathogens of poikilothermic vertebrate animals.
We welcome the submission of Original Research, Methods, Review, and Mini-Review articles to this Research Topic.