Figure 12

Histopathological characterization of the lesions induced by CyHV-3 ORF134 recombinants in the gills. Common carp (n = 20 fish per tank), with an average weight of 6 g ± 1.6 g (mean ± SD), were inoculated by immersion for 2 h in water containing 40 PFU/mL of the FL BAC revertant, FL BAC revertant ORF134 Del or FL BAC revertant ORF134 Rev strains. At different times post-inoculation (2, 4, 6 and 8 days), three infected fish were randomly selected per tank, euthanized and dissected. Three mock-infected fish were used as negative controls. Gills (present figure) and kidney (see Figure 13) were collected and processed for histological examination. Slides corresponding to each sampling point were grouped according to the viral strain used for the inoculation and were submitted to histopathological examinations by two independent examiners using a double-blind test mode. The images in this figure are representative of the analysis of one selected fish per group. Bar, 30 μm.