Identification and expression profile of multiple genes in Nile tilapia in response to formalin killed Streptococcus iniae vaccination

Twenty-eight expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were isolated from a Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) vaccinated vs non-vaccinated subtractive library at 12-h post injection of a formalin killed Streptococcus iniae ARS-98-60 vaccine. The 28 ESTs were classified in terms of their putative functions. Half of the ESTs identified were unknown proteins. Of the remaining half ESTs, 17% have putative functions in protein biosynthesis and 11% have putative functions in immunity, energy production, and signal transduction, respectively. Immunity-related ESTs identified included high density lipoprotein-binding protein vigilin, immunoglobulin heavy chain, and QM-like protein. Quantitative PCR revealed that one EST (cytochrome c oxidase subunit II) was highly upregulated (1825 ± 336 fold) in vaccinated fish compared to that in non-vaccinated fish. Of the remaining 27 ESTs, nine were significantly (P < 0.05) upregulated (<20 fold) in vaccinated fish. The nine significantly upregulated genes included five unknown or hypothetical proteins and four known proteins (high density lipoprotein-binding protein vigilin, QM-like protein, ribosomal protein S13, and ribosomal protein L5). The upregulation of these genes induced by killed S. iniae vaccines suggest that they might play important role in Nile tilapia defense against S. iniae infection.