Initial characterization of stress- and immunorelevant genes in maraena whitefish (Coregonus maraena)

Natural stocks of the anadromous salmonid maraena whitefish (Coregonus maraena) are running low in the Southern Baltic Sea. Since stock compensating efforts are not sufficient to meet the demand a new attempt is the establishment of a highly productive and robust whitefish population for local aquaculture. Therefore, molecular biological approaches support the development of a robust breeding strain. For this purpose, we isolated and characterized respective cDNA sequences of the following pivotal immune genes IL6 (Interleukin 6), IL8 (interleukin 8), IL12 (interleukin 12), SAA (serum amyloid A), IL1b (interleukin 1b), MAPK1 (mitogen-activated protein kinase 1), MAPK3 (mitogen-activated protein kinase 3) and TNF (tumor necrosis factor).