Field trials of a method of induction of autoimmune gonad rejection in Atlantic salmon (salmon salar L.).

Autoimmune gonad destruction was induced in Atlantic salmon of both sexes in trials carried out on fish kept in sea cages on a fish farm. Damage to gonads was only found in fish where the first injection of gonad extract had been given together with Complete Freund's Adjuvant, injections without adjuvant or with carrageenan as an adjuvant were unsuccessful. Length and weight differences between treated and untreated groups of fish were slight at the termination of the experiment. Results suggest that practical application of this technique would involve injection at an early stage of gonad development and at a higher water temperature (greater than 10 degrees C) to increase the rate of the primary autoimmune response. The lesion induced in the salmon testis was compared with that caused by autoimmune destruction of mammalian testis.