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Amoebic gill disease (AGD) is a major challenge for the marine salmonid farming industry. This disease is caused by Paramoeba perurans, which is a parasitic amoeba that affects fish growth and survival. The present work aimed at improving Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) diet formulation as a preventive treatment for AGD. Four diets with different quantitative composition of functional ingredients, such as arginine, premixes, plant extracts, nucleotides, beta glucans, and vitamins C and E were tested. In the first trial, fish fed the different diets were exposed to a 74‐day challenge trial with P. perurans, and their survival, feed intake, and growth performance were analyzed together with plasma properties and gill histopathology. Additionally, a second trial was performed where mucus constituents of Atlantic salmon fed the same diets were analyzed from fish that were not exposed to AGD. Results suggest a positive effect of the functional ingredients on Atlantic salmon survival and immune response. Particularly, the inclusion of arginine, microadditives, and vitamins C and E improved survival, with arginine being an important driver of pathogen protection. The protective role of mucus also improved with these functional ingredients in nonchallenged fish, as suggested by its greater viscosity and by the increased levels of lysozymes and polysaccharides. Overall, the present work supports improving diet formulation as a promising approach for the preventive treatment of AGD.

Compromised skin integrity of farmed Atlantic salmon, commonly occurring under low temperature and stressful conditions, has major impacts on animal welfare and economic productivity. Even fish with minimal scale loss and minor wounds can suffer from secondary infections, causing downgrading and mortalities. Wound healing is a complex process, where water temperature and nutrition play key roles. In this study, Atlantic salmon (260 g) were held at different water temperatures (4 or 12 °C) and fed three different diets for 10 weeks, before artificial wounds were inflicted and the wound healing process monitored for 2 weeks. The fish were fed either a control diet, a diet supplemented with zinc (Zn) or a diet containing a combination of functional ingredients in addition to Zn. The effect of diet was assessed through subjective and quantitative skin histology and the transcription of skin-associated chemokines. Histology confirmed that wound healing was faster at 12 °C. The epidermis was more organised, and image analyses of digitised skin slides showed that fish fed diets with added Zn had a significantly larger area of the epidermis covered by mucous cells in the deeper layers after 2 weeks, representing more advanced healing progression. Constitutive levels of the newly described chemokines, herein named CK 11A, B and C, confirmed their preferential expression in skin compared to other tissues. Contrasting modulation profiles at 4 and 12 °C were seen for all three chemokines during the wound healing time course, while the Zn-supplemented diets significantly increased the expression of CK 11A and B during the first 24 h of the healing phase. © 2015, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.