Comparative evaluation of three real-time polymerase chain reaction assays to detect Myxobolus cerebralis.

Objective: We sought to evaluate accurate and reproducible detection of Myxobolus cerebralis (Mc), the causative agent of whirling disease, by using nested polymerase chain reaction (nPCR) and three previously established real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays: K18S (Kelley 18S), C18S (Cavender 18S), and Hsp70 (heat shock protein 70). We used a "fit for purpose" approach combined with intra- and interlaboratory testing to identify a molecular testing method that would be equivalent to the currently accepted nPCR procedure for Mc.

Methods: Assay performance was compared using a combination of intra- and interlaboratory testing that used synthetic gBlocks along with naturally and experimentally infected fish tissue.

Choline supplementation prevents diet induced gut mucosa lipid accumulation in post-smolt Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.).

Background: Various intestinal morphological alterations have been reported in cultured fish fed diets with high contents of plant ingredients. Since 2000, salmon farmers have reported symptoms indicating an intestinal problem, which we suggest calling lipid malabsorption syndrome (LMS), characterized by pale and foamy appearance of the enterocytes of the pyloric caeca, the result of lipid accumulation. The objective of the present study was to investigate if insufficient dietary choline may be a key component in development of the LMS.

Resurgence of Salmonid Herpesvirus-3 Infection (Epizootic Epitheliotropic Disease) in Hatchery-Propagated Lake Trout in Michigan.

Over the past century, populations of Lake Trout Salvelinus namaycush have declined throughout the Great Lakes basin due to overfishing, habitat destruction, introduction of invasive species, and associated recruitment issues from high thiaminase, as well as emerging infectious diseases. To combat these declines, state and federal fishery management agencies undertook substantial stock enhancement efforts, including more stringent regulation of sport and commercial catch limits and increasing hatchery propagation of Lake Trout stocked into Great Lakes basin waterways. One state fish hatchery involved in these rehabilitation efforts experienced mass mortality events in 2012 and 2017.

Development of a loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay for the detection and quantification of epizootic epitheliotropic disease virus (salmonid herpesvirus-3).

Epizootic Epitheliotropic Disease Virus (EEDV; Salmonid Herpesvirus-3) causes a serious disease hatchery-reared lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), threatening restoration efforts of this species in North America. The current inability to replicate EEDV in vitro necessitates the search for a reproducible, sensitive, and specific assay that allows for its detection and quantitation in a time- and cost-effective manner. Herein, we describe a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay that was developed for the quantitative detection of EEDV in infected fish tissues.

Two New Species of Plagioporus (Digenea: Opecoelidae) from the Ouachita Madtom, Noturus lachneri, and the Banded Sculpin, Cottus carolinae, from Arkansas.

Plagioporus ictaluri n. sp. and Plagioporus carolini n.

Three new species of Plagioporus Stafford, 1904 from darters (Perciformes: Percidae), with a redescription of Plagioporus boleosomi (Pearse, 1924) Peters, 1957.

A form of Plagioporus Stafford, 1904 is described from the intestine of three North American species of darters (Perciformes: Percidae) from River West Twin, Wisconsin, USA, that we consider to be conspecific with Plagioporus boleosomi (Pearse, 1924) Peters, 1957 based on similarities in the sucker ratio, extent of the forebody, shape and position of the testes, vitellarium distribution and terminal genitalia. Three new species of Plagioporus are described from the intestine of darters as follows: Plagioporus fonti n. sp.

A Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction Assay for the Detection and Quantification of Epizootic Epitheliotropic Disease Virus (EEDV; Salmonid Herpesvirus 3).

Epizootic epitheliotropic disease virus (EEDV; salmonid herpesvirus [SalHV3]; family Alloherpesviridae) causes a systemic disease of juvenile and yearling Lake Trout Salvelinus namaycush. No cell lines are currently available for the culture and propagation of EEDV, so primary diagnosis is limited to PCR and electron microscopy. To better understand the pervasiveness of EEDV (carrier or latent state of infection) in domesticated and wild Lake Trout populations, we developed a sensitive TaqMan quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay to detect the presence of the EEDV terminase gene in Lake Trout tissues.

Initial Detection and Molecular Characterization of Namaycush Herpesvirus (Salmonid Herpesvirus 5) in Lake Trout.

A novel herpesvirus was found by molecular methods in samples of Lake Trout Salvelinus namaycush from Lake Erie, Pennsylvania, and Lake Ontario, Keuka Lake, and Lake Otsego, New York. Based on PCR amplification and partial sequencing of polymerase, terminase, and glycoprotein genes, a number of isolates were identified as a novel virus, which we have named Namaycush herpesvirus (NamHV) salmonid herpesvirus 5 (SalHV5). Phylogenetic analyses of three NamHV genes indicated strong clustering with other members of the genus Salmonivirus, placing these isolates into family Alloherpesviridae.

Isolation and molecular characterization of a novel infectious pancreatic necrosis virus strain in returning Atlantic salmon Salmo salar from the Connecticut River, USA.

After 22 years of negative viral screening results, the viral pathogen infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) was isolated from the ovarian fluid of two pooled samples of returning Connecticut River Atlantic salmon Salmo salar during the 2007 spawning season at Richard Cronin National Salmon Station (RCNSS), Hadley, Massachusetts. Cytopathic effect was observed in Chinook salmon embryo (CHSE-214) cells, and IPNV was confirmed by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Sequence analysis conducted by the U.