Flexibacter columnaris is the etiolog agent of columnaris disease. This ubiquitous disease has severely impacted the rearing of intensively cultivated warm water fish species such as catfish and striped bass. Though the disease can be treated with chemotherapeautic agents, immunoprophylactic means of disease control are highly desirable. The primary objective of this project is to develop a f. Columnaris bacterin that will have a broad range of applicability, with particular emphasis on preventing the disease in striped bass. The research will examine f. Columnaris isolates, focusing primarily on striped bass isolates, to determine what serologic relationships exist. Experiments in striped bass with isolates from striped bass using injection and immersion challenge methodologies will be initiated to optimize the conditions of challenge and to examine the strains for variations in virulence. This, in conjunction with the serologic analysis, will result in selection of a strain(s) suitable for bacterin development. This strain(s) will be grown in small scale fermentor batches, inactivated and/or lysed by several methods, and used to immunize striped bass by immersion.
