Workshop hosted by the 6 th Asia-Pacific Marine Biotechnology Conference
November 28- December 1, 2004 Zhoushan, P.R.China
Immunaqua: A European project- Anti-infectious immune effectors in marine invertebrates: characterisation and application for disease control in aquaculture.
E. Bachère , P. Bulet, J.-L. Nicolas, P. Sorgeloos, M. Barracco, S. Marshall , A. Tassanakajon, J. Xiang - Immunaqua project ICA4-CT-2001-10023
As world aquaculture is facing economical losses due to infectious diseases, collaborative work is currently developed in the frame of the EC INCO-DEV program, Immunaqua (ICA4-CT-2001-10023), to provide new data and new tools for the control of diseases in mollusc and shrimp aquaculture. The approach deals with the isolation and characterization of antimicrobial molecules, effectors of innate immunity, naturally produced by these invertebrates. First, the activities of these natural bioactive molecules are investigated against a wide range of pathogens, and selected molecules are monitored on larvae and live food for their potential beneficial and/or protective effect against infections. These approaches may contribute to the development of alternative methodologies to the use of antibiotics and other dangerous chemicals for larvae treatments. Second, expected outcomes of the project would concern also the development of Marker-Assisted Selection programmes using immune genes as potential markers for increased non-specific response to diseases or for health improvement. For that, quantitative methods are developed for analyses of immune effectors gene expression at population level. It is the aim of the project to develop and transfer new approaches and methodologies for use in mollusc and shrimp farming. In conclusion, the project aims to generate environment-friendly technologies for a sustainable development of the aquaculture industry.
Characterization of antimicrobial molecules from the oyster Crassostrea gigas
Y. Gueguen , M. Gonzales , J. Garnier , J. Fievet , A. Aumelas , P. Bulet , B. Romestand , E. Bachère
The aquaculture of marine molluscs and crustaceans is now limited by the development of infectious diseases that appear in all producing countries around the world. These pathologies particularly reduce larval production and lead to economical problems due to stock mortalities. One of the objectives of the European project, Immunaqua, is to characterize new antimicrobial agents, mainly antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), to provide new strategy for the control of infectious diseases in mollusc and shrimp production. AMPs are endogenous molecules, involved in the innate immunity of many species and they are playing an essential role in terms of resistance to infection and survival. These effectors present a great diversity in terms of structural features and biological properties and have the particularity to affect a large number of micro-organisms. In the frame of the Immunaqua project, we present the isolation and biochemical characterization of several antimicrobial molecules (peptides and proteins) isolated from the oyster Crassostrea gigas. Expressed sequence tag programs were undertaken from oyster hemocytes and mantle and, by sequence similarities, we identified putative defensin, proline-rich AMP and bactericidal increasing protein (BPI) genes. We are presenting the different strategies that were developed to investigate the antimicrobial activity spectrum and the physiological significance of the generation of these molecules during the immune response of oyster.