Tenacibaculosis is the second most important bacterial disease affecting the Chilean salmon industry, with its main agent being Tenacibaculum dicentrarchi. Fish with tenacibaculosis exhibit severe external macroscopic skin lesions in different areas of the body, indicating that T. dicentrarchi must be able to colonize the fish’s surface and multiply. The fish’s skin is covered by an external mucous layer that contains numerous immune substances acting as the first mechanical defense barrier against microbial colonization and potential pathogen invasions.
In the study titled “Healthy and infected Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) skin mucus response to Tenacibaculum dicentrarchi under in vitro conditions,” authored by INCAR researchers from the “Animal Health in Freshwater Life Stages of Salmonids” line, Dr. Ruben Avendaño-Herrera, Dr. Macarena Echeverría-Bugueño, and Engineer Rute Irgang, with active collaboration from Dr. Jorge Mancilla from MOWI Chile, revealed that T. dicentrarchi strains were attracted to the mucous of Atlantic salmon regardless of their health status, whether they came from healthy specimens or those with tenacibaculosis. These in vitro results suggest that greater attention should be paid to skin mucus as the primary defense against T. dicentrarchi. Based on these findings, future research should seek biotechnological products (e.g., environmentally friendly ones) that promote better health status.
