Disease resistance, stress response and effects of triploidy in growth hormone transgenic coho salmon

Diploid and triploid coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch transgenic for growth hormone (GH) and control coho salmon were compared for differences in disease resistance and stress response. Resistance to the bacterial pathogen Vibrio anguillarum was not affected in transgenic fish relative to their non-transgenic counterparts when they were infected at the fry stage, but was lower in transgenic fish when infected near smolting. Vaccination against vibriosis provided equal protection to both transgenic and non-transgenic fish. Triploid fish showed a lower resistance to vibriosis than their diploid counterparts. Diploid transgenic fish and non-transgenic fish appeared to show similar physiological and cellular stress responses to a heat shock. These studies provide information useful for both performance and ecological risk assessments of growth-accelerated coho salmon. (C) 2003 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.