The sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax as a marine model species in immunology: Insights from basic and applied research

Abstract

This review summarizes the current knowledge on immune defence activities of the European sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax by reporting the consistent amount of work done on this economically-important species. A draft genome sequence is available for this species, together with whole transcriptomes from lymphoid and nonlymphoid tissues. Available full-length coding sequences of many immunoregulatory and immune-related genes allow for targeted quantitative PCR analysis, nowadays needed for -omics data verification, ex vivo and in vitro. The first anti-T cells monoclonal antibody teleost-wise was obtained in sea bass, followed by several monoclonal and polyclonal markers of lymphocyte populations, namely T cells (pan-T, CD3ε, TcRγ, CD45), and B cells (IgM, IgT, IgD). The combined use of molecular and biochemical tools enabled investigations on innate and acquired immune responses of sea bass in unstimulated/stimulated fish, along the development and under variable environmental conditions and food regimes. An overview of sea bass viral and bacterial pathogens and available vaccines against these microorganisms is also provided. The knowledge accumulated in the past 25 years validates the European sea bass as a reference marine model in the field of fish immunology.