In vitro growth requirements for the fish pathogen Philasterides dicentrarchi (Ciliophora, Scuticociliatida)

Philasterides dicentrarchi is a scuticociliate causing fatal disease in farmed turbot and sea bass. In view of its high virulence and endoparasitic location, this parasite cannot be effectively controlled by formalin baths, and no systemic chemotherapeutic treatments have yet proved effective; immunoprophylaxis may thus be an attractive alternative approach. Since vaccine development is greatly facilitated by axenic culture of the pathogen, we have developed a simple axenic culture system based on commercially available Leibovitz L-15 medium, supplemented with fetal bovine serum, lipids (lecithin and Tween 80), nucleosides and glucose. After 1 week’s culture under optimal conditions (salinity 10‰, pH 7.2, temperature between 18 and 23 °C), yields of 1–2×10 5 cells/ml were obtained. Even cultures with seeding densities as low as 20 cells/ml were found to produce a good yield of ciliates (about 6×10 4 cells/ml) after 11 days of incubation. The ciliates thus obtained were free of contamination by other microorganisms, enabling preparation of pure P. dicentrarchi antigens for vaccine development studies.