Amoebic gill disease (AGD) in Atlantic Salmon investigated through a holo-omic lens

Abstract

Interactions between host genetics and the resident microbiota are complex. Understanding these interactions offers interesting alternatives for addressing gill health and disease resistance in salmonids. Amoebic gill disease (AGD), caused by Neoparamoeba perurans, remains a threat to Atlantic salmon, particularly in aquaculture settings where prevention and treatment options are scant. Selective breeding or genetic engineering towards increased AGD resilience present viable prevention strategies. While a number of studies have addressed AGD resistance in Atlantic salmon using transcriptomic and quantitative genetic approaches, the role of the Atlantic salmon gill microbiota in influencing AGD resilience and susceptibility needs further investigation. Addressing this, we leveraged a holo-omic approach using 16S rRNA bacterial profiling, and quantitative genetics, by considering the microbiota as an extended resistance trait of the salmon. We investigated the microbiota of AGD challenged Atlantic salmon in terms of two common resistance indicator traits: gill score and amoebic load. Subsequently we performed a GWAS using both the traditional indicator traits and traits of the microbiota. We found that the gill microbiota of the AGD affected salmon in this study was dominated by two bacterial families Simkaniaceae and Arcobacteracea. We found that microbial diversity and the relative abundance of Simkaniaceae, potentially derived from the amoeba, varied moderately with indicator traits. Additionally we identified several genomic regions that showed suggestive association with gill score and traits of the microbiota, and explored potential candidate genes for AGD resistance. Although much is still unclear regarding gill microbiota dynamics in gill disease, this study highlights the potential of addressing AGD through an integrative approach that considers the interplay between host genetics, the microbiota, and their roles in disease resistance.