Fish are essential for the ecological equilibrium of the planet’s aquatic systems and at the same time play a key role in human nutrition, livelihoods and cultural practices worldwide. The health of fish, both in the natural environment and in aquaculture systems, depends critically on the evolution and phenotypic functioning of effective immune defence strategies.
The FEBS Advanced Lecture Course 'Fish immunology: Molecular and evolutionary perspectives' – held on the island of Spetses in September 2024 – brought together enthusiastic early-stage researchers with established lecturers in the relatively novel field of fish immunology and its evolution, pathogen host interactions, vaccines and eco-immunology. By addressing the evolution of the innate and adaptive immune systems of fish, the course offered insights into mechanisms of disease resistance, and microbiome interactions. Beyond, the course highlighted the intrinsic linkages between fish immunity and the influence of ecological and anthropogenic factors. Finally, the value of fish as immunological model in biomedical research was elaborated.
A particular exercise consisted in the elaboration of concepts for review manuscripts on main topics of the course, in collaboration with the FEBS Press journals. This gave the young researchers at the course a chance to take an active role that got beyond the listening to the lectures and discussions, and fostered critical thinking.
The fact that two manuscripts got published just over one year after the course shows that the FEBS Advanced Lecture Course has led to long-term, sustainable international cooperation between researchers from different disciplines in this field for the benefit of the next generation of fish immunologists:
- Andersen-Civil A.I.S., Mantel M., Soh J., Mostowy S., Brugmann S. and Vanwalleghem G.C. (2025) Novel and unscrutinized immune entities of the zebrafish gut. Febs Letters, doi:10.1002/1873-3468.70161.
- Smith C.R., Burattin L., Ruisz Iglesias N., Sullivan R., Rice C.D., Segner H. and Tort L. (2026) A fresh perspective—advancing fish immunotoxicology in a complex world. FEBS Letters, doi:10.1002/1873-3468.70296.
Post by course organizers Helmut Segner and Joachim Frey, University of Bern, March 2026
Photo by Norbert Buduczki on Unsplash.