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Complementary approaches to diagnosing marine diseases: a union of the modern and the classic

March 14, 2016

Linking marine epizootics to a specific aetiology is notoriously difficult. Recent diagnostic successes show that marine disease diagnosis requires both modern, cutting-edge technology (e.g. metagenomics, quantitative real-time PCR) and more classic methods (e.g. transect surveys, histopathology and cell culture). Here, we discuss how this combination of traditional and modern approaches is necessary for rapid and accurate identification of marine diseases, and emphasize how sole reliance on any one technology or technique may lead disease investigations astray. We present diagnostic approaches at different scales, from the macro (environment, community, population and organismal scales) to the micro (tissue, organ, cell and genomic scales). We use disease case studies from a broad range of taxa to illustrate diagnostic successes from combining traditional and modern diagnostic methods. Finally, we recognize the need for increased capacity of centralized databases, networks, data repositories and contingency plans for diagnosis and management of marine disease.

Publication Year 2016
Title Complementary approaches to diagnosing marine diseases: a union of the modern and the classic
DOI 10.1098/rstb.2015.0207
Authors Colleen A. Burge, Carolyn S. Friedman, Rodman G. Getchell, Marcia House, Kevin D. Lafferty, Laura D. Mydlarz, Katherine C. Prager, Kathryn P. Sutherland, Tristan Renault, Ikunari Kiryu, Rebecca Vega-Thurber
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Index ID 70169059
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Western Ecological Research Center