TWENTY-THIRD ANNUAL EASTERN FISH HEALTH WORKSHOP JOHN CARVER INN, PLYMOUTH, MA 30 MARCH - 2 APRIL, 1998 Development Of Vaccines Against Bacterial Diseases In Salmonid Fishes Using DNA Immunization Marta Gomez-Chiarri Department of Fisheries, Animal, and Veterinary Science, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881 The farming of salmonid fishes constitutes a major sector of U.S. aquaculture. Bacterial kidney disease (BKD) and piscirickettsiosis are two bacterial diseases that have a serious impact on the health of salmonid fishes and pose a severe problem for the development of salmonid aquaculture. My goal is the development of effective, safe, and economic vaccines against BKD and piscirickettsiosis using DNA to immunize rainbow trout. I have used two different approaches for the development of DNA vaccines against bacterial diseases: single-antigen DNA immunization and expression-library immunization. I have established the optimal conditions for gene delivery into the tissue of live rainbow trout, constructed single-antigen and expression-library DNA vaccines specially designed for the prevention of BKD and piscirickettsiosis in salmonid aquaculture, and investigated the potential of these DNA vaccines to confer protection in challenge experiments. DNA immunization may provide safe, efficient, and economic vaccines for aquaculture and a tool to study the role of cellular and humoral immune responses in clearing bacterial infections.   Return to 23rd Annual Eastern Fish Health Workshop Return to Leetown Science Center Home Page