To understand the viral persistent state in Sockeye Salmon we profiled the transcriptome to evaluate the host response in asymptomatic carriers and to determine what effects (if any) IHNV exposure may have on subsequent virus challenges.
A case study comes from Andrew Hendry of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, who examined two populations of sockeye salmon in Washington state that were known to interbreed 56 years ago.
Here we investigate the asymptomatic carrier state to improve our understanding of persistent IHNV infections in Sockeye Salmon populations, as well as explore the potential consequences of the carrier state on subsequent immune responses.
Campaigners say such plans threaten the nearby Bristol Bay watershed, which supports the world's most productive wild sockeye salmon fishery, critical to the state's economy and the livelihoods of many Alaskan native communities.
Case study II was a further expansion on this approach, merging molecular monitoring of microparasites and host genes associated with immunity and stress with biotelemetry to explore the linkages between microparasite carrier states, salmon condition, and migratory fate of wild-caught Sockeye Salmon returning to spawn in the Fraser River in 2010.
At least nine other states breed endangered species or ones nearing that status, from sockeye salmon in Idaho to toads in Wyoming.
So far it has been found in just two wild sockeye salmon in British Columbia and not in an active state.
Some of the killer whales off the coast of Washington state are picky eaters, preferring Chinook salmon even though the coho and sockeye varieties are much more plentiful.
The Bristol Bay region is the largest sockeye spawning ground in the world, and the fish is the state's most commercially important salmon species: last year's catch was worth $296 million.
Fortunately, Alaska still has healthy salmon fisheries, particularly the many millions of sockeye (red) salmon runs of Bristol Bay, which yields a third of the state's annual harvest.
