INRAE – IERP

In this project, INRAE, the main institute for agronomic research in France, puts forward four installations for TNA.

1) INRAE-PEIMA (Experimental Fish Culture Station of Monts D’Arrée)

2) INRAE St Pée (Fish Nutrition Farms and platform)

3) INRAE-IERP (Fish Infectiology Platform)

3) INRAE-LPGP (Fish Physiology and Genomics Facility)


Name of the infrastructure: INRAE-IERP (Fish Infectiology Platform)
Location: Jouy-en-Josas, FRANCE
Website address: https://www6.jouy.inrae.fr/ierp/
Contact: Dimitri RIGAUDEAU (dimitri.rigaudeau@inrae.fr)

Facilities

INRAE-IERP is the INRAE experimental facility dedicated to fish infectiology. It supports a number of long-term research studies on fish pathology, immunology, implementation of vaccines and genetic resistance/susceptibility to diseases.

EOPS fish (rainbow trout and carp) is produced in the ‘clean’ area, for usage in infectious challenges. Trout are from controlled genetic origin, i.e. a standard population (INRAE reference strain) and isogenic lines from INRAE-PEIMA (collaboration agreement) with contrasted resistance to a range of pathogens. IERP has access to stable inbred carp families from WU.

The fish installation (1000m²) consists in rooms for breeding pathogen free fishes with 4 RAS, 344 incubators or 86 aquaria, 18 tanks of 200l. The infectiology part (BSL2) has 104 aquariums in recycled or flow-through water, 14 tanks of 300 l in recycling or in lost water. Several animal genetic origin, age, route of inoculation, water quality, etc. are available.

Within the IERP, the phenotyping platform by in vivo imaging and tissue clearing, aims to provide standard and customized phenotyping services dedicated to the study of infectiology and inflammatory diseases. INRAE researchers and more broadly the national and international scientific community benefit from cutting-edge imaging equipment ideally located in confined environment to conduct live imaging of pathogen infections and host responses of the fish species available in the infrastructure. Our services include (https://www6.inrae.fr/zp2/Home-page)

* fish and rodent infectiology under controlled conditions monitored by bioluminescence and/or photonic imaging methods,

* in vivo screening of therapeutic candidates,

* innovative anatomopathology analyses based on 3D Imaging of whole organisms (combining advanced in toto immunohistochemistry, tissue clearing, deep imaging and data processing).

Live imaging of inflammation. Dynamic of leukocyte recruitment (green macrophages, red neutrophils) was recorded by confocal imaging at the tail cut post-ablation of zebrafish tail fin. Tissue clearing and 3D imaging of rainbow trout. Trout (4g) were fixed and immunlabelled to reveal the axonal network in the whole body. Light sheet imaging of the whole specimen allow the reconstruction in 3D of biological systems in trout and carp and open unprecedented perspectives to develop anatomopathology analyses in 3D.

Services currently offered by the infrastructure

The experimental facility produces and supplies specific animals (population, families, isogenic lines) of rainbow trout and carp with specific sanitary status and realizes experimental infections using injection or immersion. Pathogenic agents studied include most classical and emerging viruses and bacteria (trout: VHSV, IHNV, ISAV, Alpha virus SDV and SPDV, Flavobacterium psychrophilum; carp: SVCV). Experiments are performed with the expertise of INRA labs Molecular Virology and Immunology (VIM) and Animal Genetics and Integrative Biology (GABI). The facility was part of the Emerg’in infrastructure (https://www.emergin.fr/emergin_eng/)

Technical support for daily experimental work and technical help for samplings will be provided to all users. For specific needs, INRAE scientists using the infrastructures (genetics, nutrition, physiology, pathology) will assist users for experimental design and data interpretation.

Modality of access

Each user is expected to stay 5 days at the infrastructure (2.5 days at the beginning and 2.5 days at the end)

Unit of access

Included for all IRAE facilities is advice on experimental design, fish lines supply, daily maintenance and measurements, routine sampling and biometric measurements, conservation of samples, provision of monitoring data and access to an office with internet connection.

In IERP the unit of access is one circuit per week, and a typical access consists of 5 to 12 units of access.

Included:

• 12 tanks of 15L or one tank of 300L

• Appropriate fish max 600 fish of 5g (tagged if requested)

• Inoculation with the pathogen

• Recording of mortalities

• Termination of experimentation by euthanasia

• Necropsy

• Sample collection (blood. Fins)

• Decontamination and biosafety

• Advanced sampling and monitoring

Note: Isogenic links should be agreed in advance

In addition to the above information, technical support for daily experimental work and technical help for samplings will be provided to all users. For specific needs, INRAE scientists using the infrastructures (genetics, nutrition, physiology, pathology) will assist users for experimental design and data interpretation.

Consortium

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