4.1.1. mRNA Vaccines
mRNA vaccines constitute a relatively novel vaccine technology, having only been developed recently, during the past three decades, as an alternative to DNA vaccines. Despite being challenged with issues regarding their stability and correct application, mRNA vaccines have come under substantial progress in recent years, making their large-scale production economically viable thanks to the scientific and technological advances of biotechnology, immunology, and molecular biology [
16,
108]. Currently, this technology holds high value as a potential platform for new vaccine development, since mRNA vaccines are distinguished by their increased immunogenicity, safety, and their low production cost [
109]. The implementation of this vaccine technology in aquaculture settings holds promise, signifying a revolutionary stride in the realm of aquatic disease prevention in the modern era.
A typical mRNA vaccine consists of all the necessary molecular elements that comprise an mRNA molecule, allowing it to be expressed through the process of translation in the cell’s ribosomes. These include an open reading frame (ORF) for the targeted antigen, situated along 5’ and 3’ untranslated regions (UTRs), a 5’ cap, and a terminal poly(A) tail [
108,
110]. After administration, the mRNA vaccine goes through the process of translation in the cell’s ribosomes and is expressed into the antigen of interest, following the fundamental principles of molecular biology. It is worth noting that a single mRNA molecule only encodes a specific antigen, though the very same molecule can be expressed to produce a significant number of antigens. This potential however is limited, as mRNA molecules are prone to enzymatic degradation inside cells [
110].
The most common viruses utilized for this technology belong to the sole genus of the Togaviridae family, called
Alphavirus. Alphaviruses are positive-sense, single stranded RNA viruses known to cause a wide range of infectious diseases, both in vertebrates and invertebrates. They are particularly known for diseases transmitted via arthropods, hence being categorically encompassed under the informal collective umbrella term of arthropod-borne viruses, known as arboviruses [
111]. Alphaviruses hold immense potential as platforms for novel vaccine development, especially in aquaculture, since many members of the genus cause diseases in economically important fish species.
Salmonid alphaviruses (SAVs) are significant viral pathogens of the aquaculture industry, sharing a considerable percentage of their genome with mammalian alphaviruses. This constitutes a sound base for scientific exploration and novel vaccine development, as there already exist commercial mRNA vaccines for mammalian production animals in the U.S.A. today [
15]. One of the most notable applications of SAV-based replicon vaccines for aquaculture can be found through Wolf et al.’s work, where an effective vaccine against the infectious salmon anemia virus (ISAV) was developed [
112]. This vaccine, based on a SAV-3-based replicon encoding the hemagglutinin-esterase (HE) protein of ISAV, was proven to be capable of providing adequate protection against infectious salmon anemia (ISA) when administered through IM injection. This study also cemented the immunogenic properties of HE, as neither the matrix (M), nor the fusion glycoprotein (F) protein were noted to be essential for immunization against ISA.
These findings suggest that the mRNA vaccine technology holds promising value as a potential candidate for novel aquaculture vaccine development, though attempts in this realm still appear to be in their infancy. Consequently, this highlights the need for further optimization through extensive trials and dedicated research efforts to firmly establish mRNA vaccines on the landscape of future aquaculture vaccine technologies. As researchers continue to explore the efficacy of mRNA vaccines in aquatic organisms, collaborations between academia, industry, and regulatory bodies will be essential to expedite their integration into mainstream aquaculture practices in the foreseeable future.
4.1.2. Vector Vaccines
Vector vaccines utilize living, non-pathogenic microorganisms in general, as carriers for the effective transportation of vaccine antigens inside the host [
72,
113]. Known for its ability to combine the immunogenicity of live-attenuated vaccines with the high precision of subunit vaccines, this vaccine technology constitutes a noteworthy alternative for vaccine development, exhibiting many advantages in its ability to provide high levels of protection through the elicitation of specialized immune responses [
75,
114]. During the last couple of decades numerous attempts have been made to advance the development of vector vaccines in the aquaculture industry. By utilizing vectors that are no longer attenuated through traditional chemical or physical means, but rather through contemporary genetic engineering, virulent genes can now be deleted or be replaced with potential genes of interest, opening new gateways for efficient and safe vaccine production [
75].
As far as bacterial vectors are concerned, many bacteria like
Listeria monocytogenes and
Escherichia coli have been efficiently employed for the development of aquaculture vector vaccines against economically important diseases such as vibriosis [
115,
116]. Spore forming bacteria like
Bacillus subtilis have also been utilized for the development of vector vaccines against a wide array of aquatic diseases, namely streptococcosis [
117], reoviral infections [
118], and even cercarial parasitic infections caused by the trematode platyhelminth
Clonorchis sinensis [
119]. Within the same realm,
Lactobacillus casei and
Lactococcus lactis bacteria have been successfully utilized for the development of vaccines against
Aeromonas veronii [
120,
121] and the viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) [
122], respectively.
In the domain of viral vectors, recombinant baculoviruses have emerged as effective tools for developing viral vector aquaculture vaccines, particularly against emerging viruses like the Cyprinid herpesvirus 2 (CyHV-2) [
123], VHSV [
124], and the infectious spleen and kidney necrosis virus (ISKNV) [
125]. As baculoviruses are known to infect invertebrates, this platform can also be utilized to vaccinate economically important species of aquatic arthropods against severe and detrimental diseases, such as the white spot syndrome (WSS) and nodaviral infections [
126,
127,
128,
129]. Nevertheless, baculoviruses can integrate their genomes in the host’s chromosomes, thus making their commercial application for vaccine development a near impossible task for aquaculture. This genome insertion can potentially cause cancer onset, in the same scope of retroviral or lentiviral infections, through a phenomenon called oncogenic insertion. Additionally, a random genome insertion could make the vaccinated animals be legally regarded as genetically modified organisms (GMO), meaning there are severe repercussions in terms of safety, consumer acceptance, and legality, especially in areas with strict GMO legislations [
98]. Hence, the quest for effective viral vector vaccines has extended to alternative vector paths, most notably recombinant adenoviruses. These viruses exhibit a strong safety and versatility profile as viral vectors, having emerged as an appealing platform for the advancement of viral vector vaccines in veterinary science for a wide range of species and diseases [
130,
131].
Recently, Ling et al. successfully implemented the recombinant adenovirus platform to develop a viral vector vaccine against the bacterial pathogen
Aeromonas salmonicida in rainbow trout (
Onchorrynchus mykiss) [
132]. In the same year, Li et al. developed a recombinant adenoviral vaccine against infectious hematopoietic necrosis (IHN) caused by the IHNV virus [
133]. The latter also developed a similar vaccine against the infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV), ultimately advancing their research to make a bivalent recombinant adenovirus vaccine that provided adequate protection against both viruses [
134]. These recent breakthroughs indicate that despite being in its nascent stages as far as the realm of aquaculture is concerned, the recombinant adenovirus platform can indeed be used to efficiently develop viral vector vaccines. This platform has even demonstrated the capability of conferring protection against co-infections in economically significant species, marking significant advancements in vaccine development. This highly promising outcome is poised to usher new paths to the implementation of alternative vaccine technologies in aquaculture, contributing significantly to the quest for aquatic disease prevention and to modern sustainability efforts.
Apart from live vectors, however, synthetic vectors have also been harnessed for the development of vector vaccines in the aquaculture industry. This dynamic shift has prompted the global scientific community to differentiate between living and non-living vaccine vectors, a differentiation that has become even more pronounced in recent years, thanks to the rapid evolution of bioengineering and nanotechnology. Within the realm of aquaculture, two candidates hold promise as synthetic vectors for vaccine development, those being virus-like particles (VLPs) and bacterial ghosts (BGs).
Virus-like particles are self-assembling molecular structures that essentially emulate viral particles. Made out of viral capsid proteins devoid of any original genetic material, these particles are rendered non-infectious, but still able to elicit immune responses by mimicking virus assembly at a tertiary level of structure [
135]. Virus-like particles can be produced through heterologous expression systems, such as bacteria, yeasts, mammalian or insect cell lines, and even transgenic plants [
15,
135,
136]. Thanks to their properties, they have been explored for their potential as vectors in vaccine development, since they are capable of eliciting both humoral and cellular immune responses upon administration [
15]. According to recent reviews carried out by Jeong et al. and Angulo et al., the main body of VLP vector vaccines in aquaculture stems from the utilization of nodaviral VLPs, specifically those of the
Betanodavirus genus [
135,
137]. This platform has been employed to develop VLP vaccines against viral nervous necrosis, a fish disease also known as viral encephalopathy and retinopathy (VER), caused by the betanodavirus NNV. NNV-VLPs appear to be an ideal platform for aquaculture vaccine development and their development can be facilitated through a multitude of expression systems [
138]. As a result, NNV-VLP vaccines have been developed not only to confer protection against nodaviruses, but also against other pathogens of viral origin such as IPNV, VHSV, SAVs, and iridoviruses.
The NNV-VLP platform was recently utilized for a potential vaccine against the bacterial pathogen
Streptococcus iniae. The VLPs displayed the bacterium’s α-enolase on their surface and were able to reduce the mortality in olive flounder (
Paralichtys olivaceus) and in zebrafish (
Danio rerio) upon preliminary immunization [
139]. It is important to note that VLP vaccines are very safe; recent studies have shown that they do not evoke any clinical side effects, but elicit extensive immune responses. This includes the upregulation of both innate and adaptive humoral and cellular components, as observed recently in a gene expression analysis conducted in the European sea bass (
Dicentrarchus labrax) [
140].
On the other hand, BGs are products of chemical or biological processing of partially lysed bacterial cells, resulting in husks that retain their morphological integrity and structural immunogenic components, though they are devoid of any intracellular contents. By preserving the bacteria’s inherently immunogenic structural components, like LPS, lipoproteins (LPNs), and peptidoglycans (PGNs), BGs can act as immunostimulatory vaccine carriers and be detected by receptors that recognize PAMP motifs [
141,
142]. Gram-negative bacteria are often utilized for the development of BGs, forming an interesting platform for synthetic vaccine carriers by also providing built-in adjuvant effects. According to Zhu et al.’s latest review on BG vaccines, it appears that this platform has gained a newfound interest recently for the development of aquaculture vaccines, as BG vaccines have been shown to attract momentum in the realm of aquaculture vaccinology. Bacterial ghost vaccines have been reported and developed against a multitude of aquatic pathogens, including bacterial pathogens belonging to the genera
Edwardsiella,
Aeromonas,
Flavobacterium, and
Vibrio, as well as viral pathogens like the grass carp reovirus (GCRV) and the spring viraemia carp virus (SVCV) [
141].