Year of grant:
2018

Research Area:
Náttúra og náttúrutilfeingi

Project type:
Verkætlan

Project title:
Hjartaklovningur (CMS): Ein vaksandi vandatáttur fyri føroyska laksaalivinnu

Grant number:
0453

Project manager:
Debes Hammershaimb Christiansen

Institution/company:
Heilsufrøðiliga Starvsstovan

Other participants:
Britt Bang Jensen, Åse Helene Garseth, Gudny Vang, Marjun Wilhelm, Jonhard Eysturskarð, Kristian Martin Dam, Marner Nolsøe, Andras Strøm, Peter Østergaard, Petra E. Petersen og Marjun M. Dahl.

Project period:
Planned: 01.01.2019-30.06.2021
Actual: 01.09.2019 - 12.03.2020 (corona) + 01.08.2022 – 31.12.2024

Total budget:
kr. 2.186.000

Grant from the FRC in DKK:
kr. 740.000

Project description:
Original
CARDIOMYOPARY SYNDROME (CMS): AN EMERGING RISK FACTOR FOR FAROESE AQUACULTURE?
The main objective of the present project is to elucidate if CMS in general is an emerging threat for Faroese aquaculture and specifically if treatments for sea lice pose a risk for the development of CMS. Atlantic salmon farming is one of the most important industries in the Faroe Islands. Since the beginning in the 1970's the production has increased from a few tons to an annual production of around 80.000 tons for the last four years. The salmon export value was a record 3500 million DKK in 2017 and accounted for almost 50 % of the total Faroese export value. Cardiomyopathy syndrome (CMS) is a serious viral disease affecting farmed Atlantic salmon and was a serious disease in the 1990's in Faroe Island. Following a complete reorganization of the industry and the implementation of new legislation on fish farming in the beginning of this millennium, CMS apparently disappeared for almost a decade despite a fast increase in production. In 2014, CMS re-emerged at a marine grow-out site in a fish group originating from eggs imported from Norway. Subsequently the annual cases of CMS has increased and has been associated with increased morbidity and mortality after treatments for sea lice, raising concern in the Faroese farming industry and for the authority. However, knowledge on the risk factors for CMS is nonexistent in the Faroes. Thus, there is an urgent need for increased scientific knowledge on CMS in order for the Faroese authorities and the farming industry to develop efficient management strategies against CMS.

Final
Piscine myocarditis virus (PMCV) is the causative agent of cardiomyopathy syndrome (CMS), a significant disease in farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.). Although increasing number of CMS outbreaks have been recorded in the Faroe Islands since the reemergence of CMS in 2013, overall PMCV genetic diversity, transmission pathways and evolutionary trajectories remain elusive. There is currently no way of cultivating the virus and only one whole genome has been publicly available. Here we present a fast amplicon-based whole genome sequencing method of PMCV directly from field samples. Phylogenetic analysis of 48 high-quality novel PMCV genomes with a broad spatiotemporal representation of farmed salmon demonstrated that the Faroese PMCV strains formed a monophyletic cluster when compared with Norwegian and Irish PMCV genomes. Homogeneity of the Faroese genomes was substantiated with principal component analyses, where no spatiotemporal clustering of genotypes was found, nor any clustering based on roe or smolt origin. However, the PMCV genome from a returning wild salmon differed considerably from all the rest and formed an outgroup. All three open reading frames (ORFs) exhibited evidence of purifying selection, although ORF3 displayed a comparatively lower degree of selective constraint. Furthermore, no virulence-determining mutations were identified in the Faroese genomes as no association was found between assigned CMS cases and specific amino acid substitutions or motifs. Our data suggests that PMCV was introduced into the Faroe Islands from Norway. However, despite a steadily increasing import of Norwegian roe, our results show no continuous reintroduction of persistent PMCV strains to Faroese farmed salmon but local spread of PMCV between the farming sites.

Project status:
Liðug

Project output:
Scientific articles, books, thesis etc.
Maria Marjunardóttir Dahl, Petra Elisabeth Petersen and Debes Hammershaimb Christiansen. Genomic analysis reveals low genetic diversity and no continuous reintroduction of piscine myocartidis virus in farmed Atlantic salmon in the Faroe Islands. 2024 Journal of General Virology DOI 10.1099/jgv.0.002068.

Other results, such as unpublished articles, patents, computer systems, original models and new procedures
Petra Elisabeth Petersen, Maria Marjunardóttir Dahl, Debes Hammershaimb Christiansen. Reintroduction and establishment of the Piscine myocarditis virus in Faroese farmed Atlantic salmon (Salma salar S.) (Manuscript in preparation).

Publications outside the scientific community, i.e. lectures, periodicals, articles in newspapers, television and radio
Petersen PE, Dahl MM, Christiansen DH. Nýggjasta um hjartaklovning í Føroyum (Update on CMS in the Faroe Islands). Aquaculture Conference, Tórshavn 28 February 2020.
Petersen PE, Christiansen DH, Dahl MM, Dam KM, Eysturskarð J, Østergaard PØ, Strøm A, Nolsøe M, Wilhelm M, Vang G, Garseth ÅH, Jensen BB. Piscine myocarditis virus (PMCV) in Atlantic salmon: prevalence in fry and broodstock material and complications in relation to mechanical delousing. 19th International Conference on Diseases of Fish and Shellfish, Porto 9 – 12 September 2019.
Petersen PE, Dahl MM, Christiansen DH. Faroese CMS mapping project. FHF – CMS og PMCV, arbeidsmøte med focus på kunnskapsbehov, Oslo 27 May 2019.
Petersen PE, Dahl MM, Christiansen DH. Hvat vita vit (ikki) um hjartaklovning – smittuleið, virusgenom og viðgerðarfelli (What we (do not) know about cardiomyopathy syndrome – transmission pathways, virus genome and treatment-related mortalities. Aquaculture Conference, Tórshavn 1 March 2019.
Petersen PE, Dahl MM, Christiansen DH. Non-invasive monitoring of pathogens in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) sea cages during mandatory sea lice counting. 21st International Conference on Diseases of Fish and Shellfish, Aberdeen 11– 14 September 2023.
Dahl MM, Petersen PP, Christiansen DH. Development of a whole genome sequencing method for Piscine Myocarditis Virus directly from field samples. Poster at 19th EAFP Conference. Porto, septembur 2019.
Dahl MM, Petersen PP, Christiansen DH. Whole genome sequencing of the Piscine Myocarditis Virus. Vísindavøka. Tórshavn, septembur 2019.
Dahl MM, Petersen PP, Christiansen DH. Whole genome sequencing reveals low genetic diversity and no continuous reintroduction of the Piscine Myocarditis Virus in Faroese farmed salmon. 21st EAFP Conference. Aberdeen, septembur 2023.
Dahl MM, Petersen PP, Christiansen DH. Genomic analysis reveals low genetic diversity and no continuous reintroduction of Piscine Myocarditis Virus (PMCV) in Faroese farmed salmon. Trination. Bergen, apríl 2024.
Dahl MM, Petersen PP, Christiansen DH. Surveillance and phylogenetic analysis of PMCV circulating in Atlantic salmon in the Faroe Island. 28th Annual Workshop of the National Reference Laboratories for Fish Diseases. Mai 2024.
Christiansen DH, Petersen PE, Dahl MM. Invited speaker on “CMS in the Faroe Islands”. Annual meeting for the Faroese aquaculture industry. March 2nd 2018, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands.
Christiansen DH, Petersen PE, Dahl MM. Invited speaker on “CMS in the Faroe Islands”. PD TriNation meeting & CMS workshop. March 13th – 15th 2018, Bergen, Norway.
Christiansen DH, Petersen PE, Dahl MM. Invited speaker on “Faroese CMS Mapping Project” 22nd Annual Workshop for National Reference Laboratories for Fish Diseases. May 30th to 31st 2018 Copenhagen, Denmark.
Christiansen DH, Petersen PE, Dahl MM. Invited speaker on “The fish health barometer in Faroese Aquaculture”. Annual meeting for the Faroese aquaculture industry. March 5th 2021, Tórshavn.
Christiansen DH, Petersen PE, Dahl MM. Invited speaker on “The fish health barometer in Faroese Aquaculture”. Annual meeting for the Faroese aquaculture industry. May 21st 2022, Tórshavn.
Christiansen DH, Petersen PE, Dahl MM. Invited speaker on “The fish health barometer in Faroese Aquaculture”. Annual meeting for the Faroese aquaculture industry. Mars 3rd 2023, Tórshavn.
Christiansen DH, Petersen PE, Dahl MM. Invited speaker on “The fish health barometer in Faroese Aquaculture”.27th Annual Work Shop for National reference Laboratories for Fish Diseases. May 30th – 31st 2023.
Christiansen DH, Petersen PE, Dahl MM. Invited speaker on “The fish health barometer in Faroese Aquaculture”.AQUA-ICE: Aquaculture cobference Iceland, Reykjavík 12th – 13th, October 2023.
Christiansen DH, Petersen PE, Dahl MM. Invited speaker on “The fish health barometer in Faroese Aquaculture”. Annual meeting for the Faroese aquaculture industry. Mars 1st, 2024, Tórshavn.
Christiansen DH, Petersen PE, Dahl MM. Invited speaker on “Situation update from the Faroe Islands on CMS, HSMI and PD. PD/CMS/HSMI TriNation meeting, 24th – 25th April 2024, Bergen, Norway.

Storage and access rights to collected data
All samples and data are stored and accessible at Heilsufrøðiliga Starvsstovan

See pure.fo



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