title: Effect of Nanophyetus salmincola and Bacterial Co-Infection on Mortality of Juvenile Chinook Salmon.
abstract: The freshwater trematode Nanophyetus salmincola has been demonstrated to impair salmonid immune function and resistance to the marine pathogen Vibrio anguillarum, potentially resulting in ocean mortality. We examined whether infection by the parasite N. salmincola similarly increases mortality of juvenile Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha when they are exposed to the freshwater pathogens Flavobacterium columnare or Aeromonas salmonicida, two bacteria that juvenile salmonids might encounter during their migration to the marine environment. We used a two-part experimental design where juvenile Chinook Salmon were first infected with N. salmincola through cohabitation with infected freshwater snails, Juga spp., and then challenged with either F. columnare or A. salmonicida. Cumulative percent mortality from F. columnare infection was higher in N. salmincola-parasitized fish than in nonparasitized fish. In contrast, cumulative percent mortality from A. salmonicida infection did not differ between N. salmincola-parasitized and nonparasitized groups. No mortalities were observed in the N. salmincola-parasitized-only and control groups from either challenge. Our study demonstrates that a relatively high mean intensity (>200 metacercariae per posterior kidney) of encysted N. salmincola metacercariae can alter the outcomes of bacterial infection in juvenile Chinook Salmon, which might have implications for disease in wild fish populations.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Microbiology , Oregon State University , 226 Nash Hall, Corvallis , Oregon 97331 , USA.
authors.forename: Sean R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Roon
authors.affiliation: a Department of Microbiology , Oregon State University , 226 Nash Hall, Corvallis , Oregon 97331 , USA.
authors.forename: Julie D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Alexander
authors.affiliation: b National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration-Fisheries , Northwest Fisheries Science Center , Newport Research Station, 2030 Southeast OSU Drive, Newport , Oregon 97365 , USA.
authors.forename: Kym C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Jacobson
authors.affiliation: a Department of Microbiology , Oregon State University , 226 Nash Hall, Corvallis , Oregon 97331 , USA.
authors.forename: Jerri L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Bartholomew
mesh_terms: D048409:Aeromonas salmonicida; D000818:Animals; D060085:Coinfection / Q000662:veterinary; D005393:Fish Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000469:parasitology; D045826:Flavobacteriaceae Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000662:veterinary*; D005417:Flavobacterium; D016905:Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000662:veterinary*; D012474:Salmon; D014200:Trematoda / Q000145:classification*; D014201:Trematode Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*