Mutations in voltage-gated sodium channels from pyrethroid resistant salmon lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis)

BACKGROUND: Parasitic salmon lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) cause high economic losses in Atlantic salmon farming. Pyrethroids, which block arthropod voltage-gated sodium channels (Na v 1), are used for salmon delousing. However, pyrethroid resistance is common in L. salmonis. The present study characterized Na v 1 homologues in L. salmonis in order to identify channel mutations associated to resistance, called kdr (knockdown) mutations. RESULTS: Genome scans identified three L. salmonis Na v 1 homologues, LsNa v 1.1, LsNa v 1.2 and LsNa v 1.3. Arthropod kdr mutations map to specific Na v 1 regions within domains DI-III, namely segments S5 and S6 and the linker helix connecting S4 and S5. The above channel regions were amplified by RT-PCR and sequenced in deltamethrin-susceptible and deltamethrin-resistant L. salmonis. While LsNa v 1.1 and LsNa v 1.2 lacked nucleotide polymorphisms showing association to resistance, LsNa v 1.3 showed a non-synonymous mutation in S5 of DII occurring in deltamethrin-resistant parasites. The mutation is homologous to a previously described kdr mutation (I936V, numbering according to Musca domestica Vssc1) and was present in two pyrethroid-resistant L. salmonis strains (allele frequencies of 0.800 and 0.357), but absent in two pyrethroid-susceptible strains. CONCLUSIONS: The present study indicates that a kdr-mutation in LsNa V 1.3 may contribute to deltamethrin resistance in L. salmonis. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.