The primary pathogen responsible for considerable economic losses in the farming of Scophthalmus maximus is Aeromonas salmonicida . To explore the initial immune response to an A. salmonicida infection in turbot, researchers utilized Illumina NovaSeq 6000 technology. In total, 2636 genes with differential expression were found in the gill transcriptome at 24 hours after infection when compared to the control group. Pathways related to focal adhesion and ECM-receptor interactions showed significant enrichment. Notably, integrins are crucial in facilitating the adhesion of cells to the extracellular matrix (ECM) amid bacterial infections. The upregulation between itgα1 and itgβ1 may enhance pathogen resistance during the immune phase in turbot. These results offer important insights into the early mucosal immune response of turbot to A. salmonicida infection.
Sheng et al. (2026) studied this question.