Host responses to vibrio infection using a zebrafish model

Abstract

This project aims to study host responses elicited towards vibriosis. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos and early stage larvae are used as the host model. Vibrio anguillarum and Vibrio parahaemolyticus, which are natural pathogens of the fish, are used for infection. An in-vivo infection model to study these pathogens needs to be developed to research this lacuna. The bacteria were streaked to isolation, validated and growth conditions were optimized. Having fluorescent lines of vibrio would is convenient to get visual data regarding distribution and interactions. Attempts were thus made to make use of shuttle vectors to generate fluorescent lines of the bacterial strains. Conjugation and electroporation protocols were adapted from various reported experiments on its strains and closely related species. Protocols were experimented with modifications at various steps of the process .