Tuesday September 1, 2026
Phys —
Atlantic herring travel in massive schools that can contain hundreds of millions—and sometimes even billions—of fish. While this abundance is characteristic of one of the most successful vertebrates on Earth, it also creates ideal conditions for viruses, bacteria and parasites to spread.
Now, an international team of researchers led by the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) has discovered that Atlantic herring have an extraordinary level of diversity in a group of immune genes that help recognize invading pathogens.
Published in Science Advances, the study found that the fish’s genetic diversity in these immune genes exceeds what has been reported in any other vertebrate studied so far, including humans.
The researchers believe this remarkable diversity reflects millions of years of natural selection as Atlantic herring continually adapted to defend themselves against an ever-changing array of pathogens.
“Our previous work has revealed many genes contributing to ecological adaptation in the Atlantic herring, but it has been very challenging to study immune genes because they often occur as clusters of closely related genes,” said Dr. Leif Andersson, a professor in VMBS’ Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences and principal investigator of the study.