Jennifer Posted December 18, 2009 Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 I was reading this in a journal today and thought I would share it in case some of you might be interested. Georgia veterinary college leads that way in discovery of freshwater fish parasite Dec 16, 2009 Athens, Ga. -- Through whole-genome sequencing, researchers at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine have uncovered new information about treating “Ich,” a single-celled protozoan parasite that attacks freshwater fish. Researchers found that Ich (Ichthyophithirius multifiliis) contains two “apparently symbiotic intracellular bacteria” that represent a new species, according to the college. It was the presence of Rickettsia, one of the two bacteria, DNA sequences in the initial genome data that showed gave scientists the indication that bacteria might live in side the Ich. “Intracellular bacteria have been described in free-living ciliates such as Paramecium, but never in Ich, which is an obligate parasite,” the college says. “It was unexpected; it was stunning to find bacteria in Ich,” says Harry Dickerson, who has been studying Ich in the veterinary college for more than 20 years and co-authored the study. Ich, the cause of “white spot disease,” bores into the skin and gills of fish, where it eventually destroys tissue and kills its host by blocking the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. There are no drugs to kill Ich in fish, only in the water. The new discovery will lead researchers to try and determine what role the two bacteria play in the physiology of Ich and whether Ich remains infective if the bacteria are removed, the college says. The results of that research could lead to new treatments of Ich. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted December 18, 2009 Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 so basically we have a spot living in a spot and if they can find what is going on with the smaller spot they may be able to kill the bigger spot and our fish could be spot less:wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted December 18, 2009 Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 Would also be interesting to see what happens if antibiotics could be used to kill the bacteria. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted December 18, 2009 Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 Am I correct in thinking that rickettsia are present in the gut of insects and assist in the digestion of cellulose? If so I wonder What they are doing in a whitespot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted December 18, 2009 Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 the ich will possibly be the host? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted December 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 Am I correct in thinking that rickettsia are present in the gut of insects and assist in the digestion of cellulose? If so I wonder What they are doing in a whitespot. I think rickettsia are usually pathogenic intracellular bacteria (unlike a lot of bacteria they cannot survive outside a host). Rickettsia are quite commonly transmitted by ticks (which is why a lot of ticks transmit disease caused by the rickettsia). I don't think the rickettsia typically have any benefit to the host - I think the relationship is mostly parasitic - which makes this case particularly unusual. I do wonder if there could be an underlying disease that the rickettsia would be causing - in fact, maybe the rickettsia is the organism that causes some of the disease symptoms... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted December 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 so basically we have a spot living in a spot and if they can find what is going on with the smaller spot they may be able to kill the bigger spot and our fish could be spot less:wink: LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted December 18, 2009 Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 sorry jennifer i used to annooy ny biology tutor by simplifying his long winded dissertations couldn't resist :oops: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted December 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 sorry jennifer i used to annooy ny biology tutor by simplifying his long winded dissertations couldn't resist :oops: Loved it! Wish my students were so creative! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted December 18, 2009 Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 got caned one day, he asked me if i knew what a layman was i said it was a man who got a headache trying to work out what the big words meant so he had to have a lay down one too many pieces of dried grass on the dromedary's back methinks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted December 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 hahhahahaaaaa (waiting eagerly for that ROFLMAO emoticon) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted December 18, 2009 Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 That's interesting research, thanks for sharing jenniferh got caned one day, Ahh, the good old days :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted December 18, 2009 Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 Ahh, the good old days :lol: and well remembered lessons Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc360 Posted December 18, 2009 Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 great post jenifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted December 19, 2009 Report Share Posted December 19, 2009 ooh fascinating, thanks Jennifer!! A parasite within a parasite. "Little bugs have littler bugs, Upon their backs to bite 'em. And the littler bugs have littler bugs, And so ad infinitum." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted December 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2009 "Little bugs have littler bugs, Upon their backs to bite 'em. And the littler bugs have littler bugs, And so ad infinitum." You and LA must have gone to the same school............. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted December 19, 2009 Report Share Posted December 19, 2009 ooh fascinating, thanks Jennifer!! A parasite within a parasite. "Little bugs have littler bugs, Upon their backs to bite 'em. And the littler bugs have littler bugs, And so ad infinitum." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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