Systemic Granulomatosis in cultured meagre, Argyrosomus regius
What makes meagre sick?
Systemic granulomatosis is a peculiar disease of unknown etiology affecting meagre, Argyrosomus regius, an important aquaculture fish species. Several pathogenic microorganisms have been suggested as causative agents. In this study, we have applied amplicon metagenomics of the 16S rRNA gene in kidneys of fish exhibiting different health states, ranging from apparently healthy to kidneys with calcification. Comparison of the kidney microbiomes of the different fish groups showed that all fish had similar bacterial communities. Linear discriminant analysis effect size revealed only three OTUs significantly enriched in the sick individuals, with no known granuloma-causing species being present among them, reinforcing the hypothesis of a non-infectious cause of the disease in this fish species.
Relevant journal articles:
- Pavloudi C, Tsertou MI, Antonopoulou E, Katharios P (2023) Investigation of Systemic Granulomatosis in cultured meagre, Argyrosomus regius, using clinical metagenomics. Aquaculture 567:739249, doi: 10.1016/j.aquaculture.2023.739249