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Catfish Laboratory

• Investigators:Eva Bengten, PhD; Melanie Wilson, PhD

Our research is focused on the immune system of the channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, one of the most economically important aquaculture species raised in the United States.

Studies of ectothermic vertebrate immune responses are important because they not only provide insights into the different immune strategies adopted by different animal groups, but they also help us to understand the origins of mammalian immunity.

In addition to their economic significance, catfish are one of the established models for studying immune responses in ectothermic vertebrates, and they are one of the few species where viable in vitro culture systems and long-term functionally distinct clonal B, T, macrophage, and NK cell lines have been developed.

Research projects

• Leukocyte immune type receptors (LITRs)
• Catfish cytotoxic cells
• Catfish immunoglobulin-binding receptors