ABSTRACT: An in situ hybridisation method was developed to detect infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV) in fixed tissues from Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L. Three DNA probes detected ISAV in heart, liver, kidney, spleen, caeca, and mid-gut from infected farmed Atlantic salmon obtained from a natural outbreak of ISA. The strongest signals were obtained using Probe S8, from Segment 8 of ISAV. Hybridisation was most prominent in the endothelial cells of heart tissue. The probes reacted specifically with ISAV; no hybridisation was evident in uninfected tissues from Atlantic salmon. Importantly, the probes did not cross react with the pathogens IHNV (haematopoietic necrosis virus), IPNV (infectious pancreatic necrosis virus), SPDV (salmon pancreas disease virus) and VHSV (viral haemorrhagic septicemia virus).

KEY WORDS: Infectious salmon anaemia virus · ISAV · In situ hybridisation · DNA probes

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Published in DAO Vol. 50, No. 2 (2002) on July 8
Print ISSN: 0177-5103; Online ISSN: 1616-1580. Copyright © Inter-Research, Oldendorf/Luhe, 2002