First Record of Renibacterium Salmoninarum in the Sea Lamprey (Petromyzon Marinus)

Abstract

ABSTRACT:Bacterial kidney disease (BKD), caused by Renibacterium salmoninarum, is a widespread problem with major implications for salmonid fish species. The mechanisms by which the bacterium has reached high levels of infection previously unrecorded in the Laurentian Great Lakes are presently unknown. Research involving reservoirs and mechanisms of R. salmoninarum transmission in fish is lacking because of the ecologic complexity of heterogeneous habitats and the lack of adequate funding. Herein, we report on the isolation of R. salmoninarum from the kidneys of the sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus). The bacterium was cultured from kidneys of 16% and 4% of lampreys collected from two locations within the Lake Ontario watershed in 2003 and 2004, respectively. The identity of bacterial colonies was verified with the nested polymerase chain reaction and quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Nearshore ecosystem predictors of a bacterial infection in juvenile Chinook salmon

“…R. salmoninarum has been isolated from sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus from the Great Lakes (Eissa et al 2006) where epizootics of BKD have occurred among Chinook salmon (Holey et al 1998), and we have ob served R. sal moninarum in kidney tissue from adult Pacific lamprey Lampetra tridentata (Gairdner) from the Columbia River (L. Rhodes unpubl. obs.).…”

Measures of larval lake whitefish length and abundance as early predictors of year-class strength in Lake Michigan

“…Serological and molecular assays also revealed the presence of R. salmoninarum in bloater and lake whitefish from Lakes Michigan and Huron (Jonas et al 2002) as well as in several forage fishes, including alewives (K. Scribner, personal communication, 2005). R. salmoninarum has also been isolated from the kidneys of sea lampreys, implicating them as a possible vector for the disease (Eissa et al 2004). …”

Lampreys: Biology, Conservation and Control

“…8.2.1), many of the studies examining parasites and other pathogens in lampreys have largely focused on their impact on human health and their potential role in the transmission of diseases to commercially-important fishes (e.g., Eissa et al 2006;Faisal et al 2007;Gadd et al 2010;Bao et al 2013). As with studies on contaminant levels in lampreys (see Sect.…”