Focus areas include pathogenesis, characterization of infection routes, transmission and spreading mechanisms, prevalence, immunity and susceptibility with special emphasis on the infectious interactions at the mucosal surfaces of skin, gills and gastro-intestinal tract. Characterizing and understanding infection mechanisms, virulence factors, immunological and physiological responses on the cellular level is an important part of our research activity.
Pathogens with special focus in our research projects include
- Piscine orthoreovirus (PRV) for causing heart and skeletal muscle inflammation (HSMB)
- Salmonid alfa virus (SAV) causing Pancras Disease (PD)
- Infectious Salmon Amenia virus (ISAV) or HPR-deleted, and the low-virulent variant HPR0
- Piscint myocarditis virus (PMCV) causing cardiomyopathy syndrome (CMS)
- Yersinia rucceri, a bacterium that causes yersiniosis
- Aeromonas salmonicida, a bacterium that causes furunculosis
- Moritella viscosa, a bacterium associated with winter ulcers in salmon and rainbow trout
- Atlantic salmon sea lice (Lepeophthheirus salmonis)
- Salmon parasitic Gyrodactylus salaris
- The intracellular fish parasite Nucleospora cysteri
- The causative agent of amoeba gill disease (AGD), Paramoeba perurans
- The crayfish plague pathogen Aphanomyces astaci
We focus on aquatic host species that are important in aquaculture and/or nature
- Wild and farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)
- Wild and farmed rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
- Wild and farmed cleaner fish
- Native, red-listed noble crayfish (Astacus astacus)
- Alien, blacklisted North American signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus).