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The FISHCOMM-project:

Mitochondria are tiny, but mighty, powerhouses found in our cells that generate the energy needed for our biochemical reactions. However, their importance goes beyond energy production. Research has shown that mitochondria also play a role in our innate defence against pathogens like viruses and bacteria. They can even produce signalling molecules central to our pathogen defence.

In the animal kingdom, salmon and zebra fish are two species that have caught the attention of researchers studying mitochondrial exchange - a process where mitochondria are transferred from one cell to another following cellular stress and tissue damage. This transfer of mitochondria is not yet fully understood, but there are indications that cells secrete vesicles and form tunnels to transfer them.

The FISCHCOMM-project is aiming to shed more light on this process and examine it in a living organism (in vivo) using the zebrafish model system. The project will study the phenomenon of mitochondrial exchange in these fish, including how it occurs and the transcriptomic and proteomic responses that accompany it.

To do this, the research team will be stressing cells with immunostimulants and nano plastics to induce mitochondrial exchange. The process will be observed using high-end nanoscopy, while the cellular responses will be assessed by proteomic and transcriptomic analysis.

Ultimately, the project aims to produce knowledge about how cells communicate with each other, what stressors induce this phenomenon, and the biological impact it has on fish. By studying mitochondrial exchange, we may gain a better understanding of how our cells function, how they respond to stress, and how we can potentially harness this process for therapeutic purposes.

Salmon farming in Norway has grown dramatically over the last two decades – to 1.4 mill metric tons in 2019. Despite this considerable progress, farmed salmon experience close to 20% mortality during the grow-out period in seawater. Fish suffer significantly from pathogens infections, physical insults and stressors contributing to approx. 20% overall mortality during the production. To re-establish homeostasis after infection and insults, tissue regeneration occurs. There is a major gap that the research on fish immunity needs to bridge for achieving the target of better fish health. This is to reach the same knowledge level as the mammalian systems about the role, criticality, and opportunities of exploiting the innate immune mechanisms of fishes. Research on innate immunity in higher vertebrates is continuously revealing multiple and highly conserved host–defense mechanisms. One of these is cell-to-cell communication (CCC) systems, wherein cell communicate with each other by virtue of receptor-ligand interaction and likely by exchanging organelles - such as mitochondrial exchange for rescuing and communication purpose. The current project aims to describe the phenomenon of mitochondrial exchange in salmon - how this occur, analysis of transcriptomic and proteomic responses during mitochondrial exchange, and examine this phenomenon in vivo in a zebrafish model system. Lack of resolution (in microscopy) is lack of knowledge. With this mission, the last decade has witnessed momentous progress in advanced microscopy. UiT has a unique position, where different advanced microscopy methods are brought together complemented by a strong research and development team.With the use of advanced microscopical methods we will examine the process of mitochondrial exchange at cell and tissue level.

Read more here.