Methane tricaine sulfonate

A total of 800 specific-pathogen-free rainbow trout (5 g average weight) were maintained in 50 L tanks with circulating water at 13 °C and fed a dry pelleted diet ad libitum. They were acclimatized for 15 days prior to the challenges. Our fish procedures were all conducted in accordance with guidelines for feeding and use of experimental animals issued by the Heilongjiang River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences (CAFS). Studies on fish were reviewed and approved by the experimental animal welfare and ethics committee of Heilongjiang River Fisheries Research Institute, CAFS. According to manufacturer standard protocols, fish were anaesthetized by dipping them in methane tricaine sulfonate (Sigma, St. Louis, MO, USA) prior to challenges.

All animal experiments were performed at the Heilongjiang Fisheries Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences in full accordance with the guidelines of the ethical review committee. According to manufacturer standard protocols, fish were anesthetized by dipping them in methane tricaine sulfonate (Sigma, Shanghai, China) prior to challenges.