Rainbow trout are able to mount an immune response after simply smelling a virus or bacteria, even before they are infected.
In a new study shared at the 2023 American Physiology Summit, researchers examined whether smell-induced activation of the immune response also triggers avoidance behaviors in the fish. By creating a maze that included a pathogen at one end, they discovered that the fish do in fact avoid the smell of pathogens.
Can you imagine being able to sniff out pathogens? What an amazing self-defense mechanism.
Source:
M Huertas, MM Billah. Pathogen odors elicit distinct neurosteroid and behavioral responses in Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Physiology. 38(S1): Abstracts from the American Physiology Summit, May 2023.
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Tags: American Physiological Society, American Physiology Summit, physiology, trout
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