Infectious diseases caused by marine viruses, bacteria and ectoparasites are among the most serious threats to sustaining and growing aquaculture industries globally. Pathogens account for billions of dollars in lost revenues annually, represent significant animal welfare concerns, and pose environmental risks related to chemical contaminants (e.g. use of antibiotics) and pathogenic spill-over to natural marine host populations. Understanding the distribution and determinants of aquatic animal disease is a primary priority for these industries. Molecular research into the genetics and genomics of these pathogens is key to understanding the dynamics of host-pathogen interactions in marine organisms and achieve best practices of control and, where applicable, eradication. Genetic and genomic approaches will surely be instrumental to improve aquatic animal health; especially in the face of continuous challenges related to climate change, increasing anthropogenic pressures, and the growth in aquaculture production.
The control of pathogens in aquatic animals is of paramount importance to support global food security and protect the health and welfare of farmed and wild aquatic animals from disease. Knowledge gaps surrounding aquatic pathogen biology represent barriers to risk mitigation and include pathogen evolution and diversity, mechanisms of invasion, propagation, and transmission, host factors, and interactions with the environment, among others. The use of molecular tools to address these gaps is an active area of research but, in most cases, lags behind similar applications in terrestrial livestock and poultry disease. This is largely due to the novelty of the problems, with aquaculture being a relatively new industry, and to the evolutionary distance of aquatic species and their pathogens to model organisms. Thus, studies characterizing aquatic pathogen genomes and linking molecular markers to phenotypes are in high demand and will greatly benefit producers and regulators searching for novel measures of control. Moreover, the transmission and dispersal of aquatic pathogens in aquatic systems is often dependent on environmental factors such as hydrodynamic conditions and presence of wild host populations. Studies employing molecular markers have significant potential to provide insights into the mechanisms of invasion, propagation, and transmission of aquatic pathogens, and employ this knowledge to inform management decisions.
This research topic covers a vast set of themes aimed at further characterizing the molecular biology of aquatic pathogens. Contributors will focus genetic and -OMIC techniques at describing pathogen diversity, including comparative genome analyses (e.g. NGS), the description of pathogen subtypes or populations, and industry-relevant attributes such as resistance to treatment. Techniques aimed at gene annotation (e.g. QTL, GWAS, transcriptomics), gene discovery, molecular epidemiology, and interactions with other microbiota are the priority. However, approaches related to host genetics are also of interest and include responses to pathogen invasion and replication, treatments, and interactions between the environment, host, and pathogen. All types of articles will be considered for publication, including short reports, primary research articles and reviews.
Infectious diseases caused by marine viruses, bacteria and ectoparasites are among the most serious threats to sustaining and growing aquaculture industries globally. Pathogens account for billions of dollars in lost revenues annually, represent significant animal welfare concerns, and pose environmental risks related to chemical contaminants (e.g. use of antibiotics) and pathogenic spill-over to natural marine host populations. Understanding the distribution and determinants of aquatic animal disease is a primary priority for these industries. Molecular research into the genetics and genomics of these pathogens is key to understanding the dynamics of host-pathogen interactions in marine organisms and achieve best practices of control and, where applicable, eradication. Genetic and genomic approaches will surely be instrumental to improve aquatic animal health; especially in the face of continuous challenges related to climate change, increasing anthropogenic pressures, and the growth in aquaculture production.
The control of pathogens in aquatic animals is of paramount importance to support global food security and protect the health and welfare of farmed and wild aquatic animals from disease. Knowledge gaps surrounding aquatic pathogen biology represent barriers to risk mitigation and include pathogen evolution and diversity, mechanisms of invasion, propagation, and transmission, host factors, and interactions with the environment, among others. The use of molecular tools to address these gaps is an active area of research but, in most cases, lags behind similar applications in terrestrial livestock and poultry disease. This is largely due to the novelty of the problems, with aquaculture being a relatively new industry, and to the evolutionary distance of aquatic species and their pathogens to model organisms. Thus, studies characterizing aquatic pathogen genomes and linking molecular markers to phenotypes are in high demand and will greatly benefit producers and regulators searching for novel measures of control. Moreover, the transmission and dispersal of aquatic pathogens in aquatic systems is often dependent on environmental factors such as hydrodynamic conditions and presence of wild host populations. Studies employing molecular markers have significant potential to provide insights into the mechanisms of invasion, propagation, and transmission of aquatic pathogens, and employ this knowledge to inform management decisions.
This research topic covers a vast set of themes aimed at further characterizing the molecular biology of aquatic pathogens. Contributors will focus genetic and -OMIC techniques at describing pathogen diversity, including comparative genome analyses (e.g. NGS), the description of pathogen subtypes or populations, and industry-relevant attributes such as resistance to treatment. Techniques aimed at gene annotation (e.g. QTL, GWAS, transcriptomics), gene discovery, molecular epidemiology, and interactions with other microbiota are the priority. However, approaches related to host genetics are also of interest and include responses to pathogen invasion and replication, treatments, and interactions between the environment, host, and pathogen. All types of articles will be considered for publication, including short reports, primary research articles and reviews.
