NOAA RESEARCH LINKS WATER MOLD TO LESIONS, ULCERS IN EAST COAST ESTUARINE FISH

April 11, 2006 — A new study, led by NOAA scientists and reported in the peer-reviewed journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology, provides strong evidence that the water mold known as Aphanomyces invadans is the pathogen responsible for seasonal outbreaks of skin ulcers and lesions observed in menhaden and other estuarine fish along the U.S. East Coast. (NOAA image of menhaden fish catch. Please credit “NOAA.”)

Large fish lesion events in the 1990s, initially linked to the dinoflagellate Pfiesteria piscicida, caused widespread concern over the safety of seafood and recreational waters. These concerns caused many people to avoid the coast and to avoid eating seafood. An independent study published in 2003 in the journal Ocean and Coastal Management estimated that lost revenues for the tourism, restaurant and seafood industries exceeded $100 million.

Scientists from the NOAA Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research in Beaufort, N.C., led the research along with experts from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the North Carolina Division of Water Quality, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science at The College of William and Mary, and North Carolina State University's College of Veterinary Medicine. (Click NOAA image for larger view of Aphanomyces invadans hyphae that were grown in culture, which were labeled with a fluorescent probe and visualized with epifluorescent microscopy. Please credit “NOAA.”)

The scientists developed two very specific tests or assays to detect the A. invadans water mold—one using sensitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) procedures and the other using fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). They first validated these assays in the laboratory before applying them to Atlantic menhaden taken from the Pamlico and Neuse River estuaries in North Carolina.

The results of both assays were the same—all lesioned menhaden tested positive for A.invidans.

"The FISH assay is the first molecular assay to provide unambiguous visual confirmation that water mold from the ulcerated lesions were exclusively A. invadans," said Mark W. Vandersea of NOAA, corresponding author of the study. Until this study, scientists had been unable to positively identify A. invadans as the only species of water mold responsible for causing the lesions in wild caught fish. (Click NOAA image for larger view of an infected menhaden that was collected from the Neuse River, N.C. The menhaden tissue was labeled with the fluorescent probe, and Aphanomyces invadans have spread throughout the tissue. Please credit “NOAA.”)

The new study supports a growing body of research evidence, including recently collected data by researchers in southern Asia and Australia, indicating that A. invadans, rather than Pfiesteria, is the major cause of ulcers and lesions in fish.

A. invadans, however, should not be considered the sole cause for ulcerative lesions. Stress, poor nutrition, and certain parasite, bacterial and viral infections are all capable of producing similar lesions. Further studies will be needed to determine how natural A. invadans infections are caused.

"The PCR and FISH assays developed in this study now make it possible to screen the large numbers of environmental samples needed to identify alternative hosts and sources of A. invadans infections," said NOAA scientist Wayne Litaker. "Identifying the sources and the conditions promoting the growth and transmission of the pathogen will help resource managers better predict when lesion events are likely to occur and perhaps develop effective mitigation strategies."

NOAA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of the nation's coastal and marine resources.

Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, 61 countries and the European Commission to develop a global network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects.

Relevant Web Sites
NOAA Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research

NOAA Ocean Service

Media Contact:
Ben Sherman, NOAA Ocean Service, (301) 713-3066
(A. invadan images courtesy of NOAA’s Mark Vandersea.)