About the Project
Gill health is now recognised as a major health management issue for farmed fish, with pathology being a result of a diverse array of pathogens and environmental insults. Inflammation in the gills has knock on implications as the fish with compromised gills are much more delicate for handling protocols. Functional feeds that can either reduce inflammation or even increase the fish’s capacity to reduce pathogen load and are an important part of health management strategy. This project will investigate how functional feeds impact the gills in salmon and address the underlying molecular changes in gills following feeding trials.
The project will use state of the art molecular approaches for both gene expression, protein analysis and microbiome. The student will also work closely with researchers at the sponsoring industrial partner BioMar.
Application Process
Please apply for admission to the ’Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Biological Science’ to ensure that your application is passed to the correct School for processing.
Please provide a copy of the degree certificate and transcript for each previous degree undertaken, a copy of your English language proficiency certificate (if relevant), and contact details of two referees who can comment on your previous academic performance (at least one should be from your current degree programme). References will be requested if you are selected for interview. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
References
1. Dehler, CE Secombes, CJ Martin SAM. 2017 Seawater transfer alters the intestinal microbiota profiles of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) Scientific reports 7 (1), 13877
2. Lorgen, M Jorgensen, EH Jordan, WC Martin, SAM Hazlerigg DG 2017. NFAT5 genes are part of the osmotic regulatory system in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Marine genomics 31, 25-31
3. Macqueen DJ, Primmer CR, Houston RD, Nowak BF, Bernatchez L, Bergseth S, Davidson WS, Gallardo-Escárate C, Goldammer T, Guiguen Y, Iturra P, Kijas JW, Koop BF, Lien S, Maass A, Martin SAM, McGinnity P, Montecino M, Naish KA, Nichols KM, Ólafsson K, Omholt SW, Palti Y, Plastow GS, Rexroad CE Rd, Rise ML, Ritchie RJ, Sandve SR, Schulte PM, Tello A, Vidal R, Vik JO, Wargelius A, Yáñez JM; FAASG Consortium. Functional Annotation of All Salmonid Genomes (FAASG): an international initiative supporting future salmonid research, conservation and aquaculture. BMC Genomics. 2017 Jun 27;18(1):484.
4. Lorgen M, Casadei E, Król E, Douglas A, Birnie MJ, Ebbesson LO, Nilsen TO, Jordan WC, Jørgensen EH, Dardente H, Hazlerigg DG, Martin SAM. 2015 Functional divergence of type 2 deiodinase paralogs in the Atlantic salmon. Curr Biol. 25(7):936-41.
5. Castro R, Jouneau L, Tacchi L, Macqueen DJ, Alzaid A, Secombes CJ, Martin SAM, Boudinot P. 2015 Disparate developmental patterns of immune responses to bacterial and viral infections in fish. Sci Rep. 5:15458