Zebrafish as a model for zoonotic aquatic pathogens

Abstract

Aquatic habitats harbor a multitude of bacterial species. Many of these bacteria can act as pathogens to aquatic species and/or non-aquatic organisms, including humans, that come into contact with contaminated water sources or colonized aquatic organisms. In many instances, the bacteria are not pathogenic to the aquatic species they colonize and are only considered pathogens when they come into contact with humans. There is a general lack of knowledge about how the environmental lifestyle of these pathogens allows them to persist, replicate and produce the necessary pathogenic mechanisms to successfully transmit to the human host and cause disease. Recently, the zebrafish infectious disease model has emerged as an ideal system for examining aquatic pathogens, both in the aquatic environment and during infection of the human host. This review will focus on how the zebrafish has been used successfully to analyze the pathogenesis of aquatic bacterial pathogens.

The zebrafish as a model for gastrointestinal tract–microbe interactions

“…Though gastroenteritis is most closely associated with V. cholerae, V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus can also cause intestinal disease, serious wound and soft tissue infections, as well as bacteraemia (Johnston et al, 1986;Lee, Liu, & Huang, 2003;Tsai et al, 2009). Various groups have attempted to model Vibrio-induced diseases in both mammalian and nonmammalian systems; however, the animals used were not natural hosts and required tedious manipulation (Rowe, Withey, & Neely, 2014). Vibrios naturally colonise zebrafish, and some strains are natural fish pathogens, so using zebrafish as a host to model disease may offer valuable insights into Vibrio pathogenesis and aid the identification of therapies to combat infection (Runft et al, 2014).…”

Regard à travers le danio pour mieux comprendre les interactions hôte/pathogène

“…Plusieurs pathogènes bactériens ou viraux, connus pour infecter naturellement les poissons et être à l'origine de zoonoses dans les élevages piscicoles, ont été étudiés dans le danio [14]. En conditions naturelles, ils pénétre-raient par voie oro-intestinale, par les branchies ou par effraction cutanée suite à une blessure, mais pourraient également être transmis par l'intermédiaire de certains parasites.…”

Induction of mild enterocolitis in zebrafish Danio rerio via ingestion of Vibrio anguillarum serovar O1

“…Zebrafish larvae have no adaptive immune system, thereby providing the opportunity to study the vertebrate innate immune system in isolation (Willett et al 1999, Lam et al 2004) and also providing an infection route for a number of virulence factors such as V. anguillarum (O'Toole et al 2004, Zhang et al 2012). In contrast, adults have a well-developed adaptive and innate cellular immune system, making this fish an ideal model for the study of infectious diseases and zoonotic aquatic pathogens (Phelps & Neely 2005, Rowe et al 2014.…”