Association between melanin deposits in gill tissue and microbiome across different hatchery reared Atlantic salmon.

Aims: To investigate the relationship between microbial community profiles and gill pathology during a production cycle of Atlantic salmon in two commercial hatcheries.
Methods and Results: Relationships between gill histology, environmental conditions, and microbiome were determined using high-throughput data, including 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing data, histopathology data, and water quality parameters. Hatchery A used riverine water and operated a mixed system of recirculation aquaculture system (RAS) and flowthrough. Hatchery B was used bore water and operated a RAS. Melanin deposits, hyperplastic, and inflammatory lesions were observed histologically in the gills. A higher prevalence of melanin deposits was detected and correlated to a change in beta diversity of bacterial communities in early time points (fingerling and parr stages). High abundance of Sphaerotilus sp.,Pseudomonas sp.,Nitrospira sp.,Exiguobacterium sp.,Deinococcus sp.,and Comamonas sp. was correlated with a high prevalence of melanin in filaments. Bacterial diversity increased as the fish cohort transitioned from RAS to flowthrough in hatchery A.
Conclusions: Under commercial conditions, the commensal community of gill bacteria was related to melanin prevalence.
(© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Applied Microbiology International.)