Project number:
2008-218
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure:
$612,000.00
Principal Investigator:
Barbara Nowak
Organisation:
University of Tasmania (UTAS)
Project start/end date:
21 Jul 2008
-
29 Sep 2011
Contact:
FRDC
SPECIES
There is an urgent need to successfully culture and preserve N. perurans to guarantee future supply of amoebae for research. Existing funding for AGD Vaccine Project Phase III (FRDC 2007/234) is sufficient for sea water and the technical labour to perform 2 additional vaccine/challenge trials after June 2008 (which includes: day to day water management, animal husbandry, collection of amoebae and infection initiation, management of the AGD infection and feeder tanks and histology to confirm AGD status and quantify pathology). There are no resources allocated to investigate culture of N. perurans, perform additional tank-based challenge /vaccine trials (after 2009) or investigate alternative approaches to AGD control.
1. Develop techniques to successfully culture and cryopreserve virulent N. perurans
2. Elucidate role of saccharide-inhibitable lectins on the ability of the amoeba to attach to salmon tissue
3. Isolate, identify and investigate antigenicity of the lectin mediating N. perurans attachment
4. Determine whether protection in salmon against AGD can be achieved using the identified N. perurans lectin
5. Maintain and run 4 further laboratory based tank trials for project 2007/234 in 09/10 and 10/11
6. Provide virulent amoebae for other AGD research.
