In situ hybridisation identifies the gill as a portal of entry for PKX (Phylum Myxozoa), the causative agent of proliferative kidney disease in salmonids
Dj. Morris et al., In situ hybridisation identifies the gill as a portal of entry for PKX (Phylum Myxozoa), the causative agent of proliferative kidney disease in salmonids, PARASIT RES, 86(12), 2000, pp. 950-956
PKX (Phylum Myxozoa) is an important pathogen affecting salmonid culture in
Western Europe and North America. All of the available oligonucleotide pro
bes developed for the PCR amplification of PKX DNA were examined for their
ability to detect PKX in fixed tissue sections using in situ hybridisation.
Out of the 12 probes examined only four stained PKX in tissue sections. Th
e specificity of these probes to PKX was examined by testing them individua
lly against a range of myxosporean infections. One of the probes (1032) cro
ss-reacted with Sphaerospora truttae infecting brown trout kidney and stain
ed this parasite in tissue sections, while probe 6R stained stickleback DNA
. The results from these studies allowed for an optimised, relatively rapid
, in situ hybridisation protocol to be developed for PKX detection. Using t
his protocol, a preliminary study was conducted on the life history of the
parasite in the rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss. This demonstrated the pr
esence of PKX in the gill arch 3 days after initial exposure in an enzootic
river. It is suggested that a portal of entry for PKX is the gill. From he
re, it migrates to the kidney where the disease progresses as previously de
scribed.