Morphopathology and gill recovery of Atlantic salmon during the parasitic detachment of Margaritifera margaritifera

During the conservation aquaculture of the freshwater mussel Margaritifera margaritifera, fish health has become a concern due to the need of mussel larvae (glochidia) to parasitize the salmonid gills and metamorphose into juveniles. However, there is a lack of information about the impact on fish d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of fish diseases 2021-08, Vol.44 (8), p.1101-1115
Main Authors: Castrillo, Pedro A., Varela‐Dopico, Catuxa, Bermúdez, Roberto, Ondina, Paz, Quiroga, María Isabel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Apoptosis
Aquaculture
Breeding
Electron microscopy
Epithelium
Fish
fish pathology
Freshwater
Freshwater fish
Freshwater fishes
Freshwater molluscs
freshwater pearl mussel
gill healing
Gills
Glochidia
glochidiosis
Healing
Hyperplasia
Inland water environment
Juveniles
Larvae
Margaritifera margaritifera
Marine fishes
Mollusks
Morphology
Mussels
parasite detachment
Parasitism
Recovery
Salmo salar
Salmon
Scanning electron microscopy
Selective breeding
Stereomicroscopy
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Summary:During the conservation aquaculture of the freshwater mussel Margaritifera margaritifera, fish health has become a concern due to the need of mussel larvae (glochidia) to parasitize the salmonid gills and metamorphose into juveniles. However, there is a lack of information about the impact on fish during the juvenile detachment and the subsequent gill healing. To evaluate the morphopathological changes and gill recovery after the parasitism of M. margaritifera, 51 Atlantic salmon fry (Salmo salar), infested with around 22 larvae/fish g, were necropsied during the synchronized detachment of the mussel juveniles, and gills were assessed by stereomicroscopy and by light and scanning electron microscopy. Salmon showed no clinical signs during the trial and gills recovered their normal morphology almost completely in a short time, suggesting a minimal impact on fish health after glochidiosis. In this sense, the non‐erosive droplet detachment and the goblet cell hyperplasia favoured an effective gill remodelling mediated by apoptosis, polarization and cell shedding of the gill epithelia, providing insights to the defence, clearing and healing mechanisms of the gill. These morphopathological techniques could also be implemented to preserve fish welfare and to optimize the artificial breeding programmes of endangered freshwater mussels.
ISSN:0140-7775
1365-2761
DOI:10.1111/jfd.13372