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BRUSE - Brucellosis from the sea
Project
Project code: BfR-BIOS-08-1329-520
Contract period: 01.11.2013
- 31.12.2015
Purpose of research: Applied research
The main aim of this project is to identify whether B. pinnipedialis has an extended ecological range including fish as a primary host and if outbreak of disease is influenced by increased sea water temperatures. Knowledge of B. pinnipedialis ability to survive and grow in the marine environment will be obtained by establishing growth curves of bacteria in a sea water model at different ambient temperatures representative for the Arctic Ocean, both present and expected, based on future predicted climate scenarios. Brucella pinnipedialis ability survive and multiply in cells originating from fish will be evaluated by infecting cod macrophages in vitro. The number of viable intracellular bacteria will be determined at different time points post infection, providing information whether B. pinnipedialis is able to sustain a chronic infection in fish macrophages. Intracellular presence will be confirmed using immunocytochemistry and transmission electron microscopy. Measurement of immunological response following infection will be executed by real-time PCR of immune genes. To determine if B. pinnipedialis produce disease in fish in vivo, experimental infection in fish will be executed. Infected fish will be held at two different temperatures to investigate the influence of water temperature on disease development and progression. Non-infected, in-contact groups will be established to explore the transmission of infection. Fish of all groups will be sampled at regular intervals and tested for the presence of anti-Brucella antibodies and for the presence of B. pinnipedialis in different visceral organs and muscles by classical bacteriology, PCR and RT-PCR.
Section overview
Subjects
- Marine fisheries
- Toxicology
- Climate Change