Assistant Professor


MSc, MVM, PhD

Office Address
Room 1A-502, 5/F, Block 1, To Yuen Building, 31 To Yuen Street, City University of Hong Kong

Office Tel
+852 3442-2627

Office Fax
+852 3442-0139

Email
wenlocai@cityu.edu.hk

Biography URL
CityU Scholars


Biography
Research Interest
Selected Publications
Dr. Wenlong (Colin) Cai joined City University of Hong Kong in October 2021 as an Assistant Professor in Aquatic Animal Health in the Department of Infectious Diseases and Public Health.
He obtained both MSc and PhD degrees from the School of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Science at Auburn University (Auburn, AL, USA), and he also held a joint master’s degree in Veterinary Medicine (MVM) from Shanghai Ocean University (Shanghai, China). His doctoral research involved the study of virulence factors of warm water fish pathogens, and the mechanism of action for a live-modified vaccine against columnaris disease in catfish. Afterwards, he became a postdoctoral fellow and adjunct faculty at the Atlantic Veterinary College (AVC) at University of Prince Edward Island (PE, Canada), where he worked on fish immune response to pathogen co-infection and functional feed.
He has also served as the chief bacteriology diagnostician for the Aquatic Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at Auburn University in Alabama (USA), and the coordinator for annual hatchery checks (bacterial and virology sections) for state hatcheries in the southeastern United States.


Dr. Cai’s research covers a broad range of topics in Aquatic Animal Health, including but not limited to, bacterial host-pathogen interactions, vaccine development, fish immune pathway analysis and the impact of functional feeds. His overall research goal is to identify the interaction of molecular pathways between the fish host and bacterial pathogens, and use this knowledge to develop novel treatment strategies for disease mitigation in aquaculture.


Cai, W., Kumar, S., Umasuthan, U., Caballero Solares, A., Carvalho, L. A., Whyte, ., ... & Fast, M. D. 2021. Transcriptome analysis of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) skin in response to sea lice and infectious salmon anemia virus co-infection under different experimental functional diets.?Frontiers in Immunology, 5535. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2021.787033
Cai, W.; Arias, C.R. Deciphering the Molecular Basis for Attenuation of?Flavobacterium columnare?Strain Fc1723 Used as Modified Live Vaccine against Columnaris Disease.?Vaccines?2021,?9, 1370. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9111370
Cai, W., L. De La Fuente, and C.R. Arias. 2013. Biofilm formation by the fish pathogen Flavobacterium columnare: development and parameters affecting surface attachment. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 79: 5633-5642. ?DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.01192-13
Cai W., L. De La Fuente, and C.R. Arias. 2019.Transcriptome analysis of the fish pathogen Flavobacterium columnare in biofilm suggests calcium role in pathogenesis. BMC Microbiology. 19 (1): 151. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12866-019-1533-4
Ksepka S. J.M.Rash, W. Cai, S.A. Bullard. 2021. Detection of Myxobolus cerbralis (Hofer, 1903) (Bivalvulida:Myxobolidae) in two non-Tubifex tubifex oligochaetes in the southeastern united states. Disease of Aquatic Organisms. 143:51-56. https://doi.org/10.3354/dao03554
Cai, W. and C.R. Arias. 2019. Draft genome sequences of Flavobacterium columnare ARS1 and BGFD27 strains isolated from channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus). Microbial Resource Announcement. 8 (26): e00648-19. https://doi.org/10.1128/MRA.00648-19
A.M. Declercq*, W. Cai*, E. Naranjo, W. Thongda, V. Eeckhaut, E. Bauwens, C. Arias, L. De La Fuente, B. Beck, M. D. Lange, E. Peatman, F. Haesebrouck, J. Aerts, A. Decostere. 2019. Evidence that the stress hormone cortisol regulates biofilm formation differently among Flavobacterium columnare isolates. Veterinary Research. 50:24. (*Shared first co-authorship). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13567-019-0641-3
Cai, W., E. Willmon, F.B. Valverde, C.L. Ray, T. Hanson, and C.R. Arias. 2018. Biofilm and sediment are major reservoirs of virulent Aeromonas hydrophila (vA h) in catfish production ponds. Journal of Aquatic Animal Health. 31:112-120. https://doi.org/10.1002/aah.10056
Ray, C.L., W. Cai, E. Willmon, and C.R. Arias. 2018. Fish are not alone: Characterization of the gut and skin microbiomes of wild-caught Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides), Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus), and Spotted Gar (Lepisosteus oculatus). SDRP Journal of Aquaculture, Fisheries & Fish Science. 2 (2). DOI: 10.25177/JAFFS.2.2.RA.459
Cai, W., and C.R. Arias. 2017. Biofilm formation on aquaculture substrates by selected bacterial fish pathogens. Journal of Aquatic Animal Health. 29:95-104. https://doi.org/10.1080/08997659.2017.1290711
Zhang, X., W. Cai, Z. Tao, and C.R. Arias. 2014. Survival of fish pathogenic strains of Aeromonas hydrophila under starvation. Journal of Aquatic Animal Health. 26.3: 190-193. https://doi.org/10.1080/08997659.2014.922515
Arias, C.R., W. Cai, E. Peatman, and S.A. Bullard. 2012. Catfish hybrid Ictalurus punctatus x I. furcatus exhibits higher resistance to columnaris disease than the parental species. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms. 100: 77-81. https://doi.org/10.3354/dao02492
Arias, C.R., S. LaFrentz, W. Cai, and O. Olivares-Fuster. 2012. Adaptive response to starvation in the fish pathogen Flavobacterium columnare: cell viability and ultrastructural change. BMC Microbiology. 12: 266-288. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2180-12-266