Selected morpho-chemical features of hemocytes in farmed shrimp, Fenneropenaeus indicus in Iran

The aim of the present study was to determine various types of hemocytes, total and differential hemocyte count and to show some indices of phagocytosis, including percent phagocytosis and phagocytic index in Indian white shrimp, Fenneropenaeus indicus in Iranian shrimp farms. The hemolymph was extracted from the shrimps and mixed with anticoagulant. It then stained and Yeast was added as foreign particles to samples. Based on the cell size and presence of the granules and nucleocytoplasmic ratio, three major groups of hemocytes, including hyaline cells, small granular cells (SGC) and large granular cells (LGC) were identified. Hyaline cell (HC) was the smallest hemocyte. HC (hyaline cell) about was 10-15%, lower quantity in comparison to some species and those of LGC and SGC were 20-25% and 60-65%, respectively, suggesting that relative percentage of differential hemocyte count in Fenneropenaeus indicus is different from other decapods. Also, in this study, it was shown that SGH and LGH could engulf the yeast particles. In Contrast to some previous studies, no engulfment was observed by hyaline cells in vitro. In this study it was showed that there are some variations in total and differential hemocyte count compare to other species in the family of Penaeidae.