Keeping gills healthy: The microbiome and disease in farmed Atlantic salmon

Understanding the relationship between the microbiome and disease in farmed Atlantic salmon is an important and emerging area of study. Gill disease in salmon is a major concern in salmon aquaculture but little is known about the role the gill microbiome plays in providing protection for the salmon from various gill diseases. Researchers from University of St Andrews, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Scottish Association for Marine Science, University of Aberdeen and the Sitka Sound Science Center used 16S rRNA sequencing to investigate the gill microbiome alongside fish health screening in farmed Atlantic salmon. Results suggest that the microbiome of farmed Atlantic salmon gills undergoes continual change in the marine environment, with environmental, host and pathogenic factors influencing the changes. There was a significant association of specific taxa with different gill health states which suggests these taxa may be good indicators of gill health. Further research with more frequent sampling and deliberate manipulation of gills would provide important advancement in this. Overall, the research provides new insight into the microbiome structure of gills during an annual production cycle of marine-stage farmed Atlantic salmon.

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Clinton, M., Wyness, A.J., Martin, S.A.M., Brierley. A.S. and Ferrier, D.E.K. (2024). Association of microbial community structure with gill disease in marine-stage farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar); a yearlong study. BMC Veterinary Reseearch 20, 340. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-024-04125-5.

AquaHoy Article - Keeping gills healthy: the microbiome and disease in Atlantic salmon.