TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessment of the Roles of Copepod Apocyclops royi and Bivalve Mollusk Meretrix lusoria in White Spot Syndrome Virus Transmission
AU - Chang, Yun Shiang
AU - Chen, Tsan Chi
AU - Liu, Wang Jing
AU - Hwang, Jiang Shiou
AU - Kou, Guang Hsiung
AU - Lo, Chu Fang
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Council of Agriculture under grant no. 99AS-9.1.1-AQ-B1(2) and the National Science Council under grant no. NSC 97-2313-B-212-002-MY3. We thank Mr. Paul Barlow for his helpful criticism of the manuscript.
PY - 2011/10
Y1 - 2011/10
N2 - Here, we investigate the roles of copepods and bivalve mollusks in the transmission of white spot syndrome virus (WSSV), which is the causative pathogen of an acute, contagious disease that causes severe mortalities in cultured shrimp. Copepods are common components in seawater ponds and are often eaten as live food by shrimp post-larvae. WSSV has been detected in these animals, but it is unknown whether this was due to contamination or infection. Meanwhile, the bivalve mollusk Meretrix lusoria is often used as live food for brooders, and in Taiwan, this hard clam is sometimes co-cultured with shrimp in farming ponds. However, mollusks' ability to accumulate, or allow the replication of, shrimp viruses has not previously been studied. In this study, WSSV, the copepod Apocyclops royi and bivalve mollusk M. lusoria were experimentally challenged with WSSV and then assayed for both the presence of the virus and for viral gene expression. Results showed that the WSSV genome could be detected and that the viral loads were increased in a time-dependent manner after challenge both in A. royi and M. lusoria. Reverse transcriptase PCR monitoring of WSSV gene expression showed that WSSV could replicate in A. royi but not in M. lusoria, which suggested that WSSV, while could infect A. royi, was only accumulated in M. lusoria. A bioassay further showed that the WSSV accumulated in M. lusoria could be transmitted to Litopenaeus vannamei and cause severe infection.
AB - Here, we investigate the roles of copepods and bivalve mollusks in the transmission of white spot syndrome virus (WSSV), which is the causative pathogen of an acute, contagious disease that causes severe mortalities in cultured shrimp. Copepods are common components in seawater ponds and are often eaten as live food by shrimp post-larvae. WSSV has been detected in these animals, but it is unknown whether this was due to contamination or infection. Meanwhile, the bivalve mollusk Meretrix lusoria is often used as live food for brooders, and in Taiwan, this hard clam is sometimes co-cultured with shrimp in farming ponds. However, mollusks' ability to accumulate, or allow the replication of, shrimp viruses has not previously been studied. In this study, WSSV, the copepod Apocyclops royi and bivalve mollusk M. lusoria were experimentally challenged with WSSV and then assayed for both the presence of the virus and for viral gene expression. Results showed that the WSSV genome could be detected and that the viral loads were increased in a time-dependent manner after challenge both in A. royi and M. lusoria. Reverse transcriptase PCR monitoring of WSSV gene expression showed that WSSV could replicate in A. royi but not in M. lusoria, which suggested that WSSV, while could infect A. royi, was only accumulated in M. lusoria. A bioassay further showed that the WSSV accumulated in M. lusoria could be transmitted to Litopenaeus vannamei and cause severe infection.
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U2 - 10.1007/s10126-010-9352-5
DO - 10.1007/s10126-010-9352-5
M3 - Article
C2 - 21279409
AN - SCOPUS:80051663917
VL - 13
SP - 909
EP - 917
JO - Molecular Marine Biology and Biotechnology
JF - Molecular Marine Biology and Biotechnology
SN - 1436-2228
IS - 5
ER -