PROTECTIVE IMMUNITY TO VHS IN RAINBOW-TROUT (ONCORHYNCHUS-MYKISS, WALBAUM) FOLLOWING DNA VACCINATION

Rainbow trout fingerlings were immunized by intramuscular injection of a plasmid DNA vector encoding the viral haemorrhagic septicaemia viru s (VHSV) glycoprotein (G) or nucleocapsid protein (N) genes under the control of a cytomegalovirus promoter. Challenge with VHSV 52 days lat er demonstrated that both viral genes, and the G gene in particular, w ere able to induce protective immunity against VHS. In contrast to ser a taken from fish injected with the N gene, neutralizing antibody acti vity could be detected both before and after challenge in the sera of a major proportion of the fish injected with the G gene. (C) 1998 Acad emic Press Limited.