This is the first report of natural white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) infection in wild and large-scale farmed crawfish. In the spring of 2007, 3 crawfish farms experienced heavy mortality in ponds populated by Procambarus clarkii and P. zonangulus. Histological examination revealed findings consistent with severe viral infection characterized by numerous intranuclear inclusions in ectodermal an...

We present a new transcriptome assembly of the Pacific whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei), the species most farmed for human consumption. Its functional annotation, a substantial improvement over previous ones, is provided freely. RNA-Seq with Illumina HiSeq technology was used to analyze samples extracted from shrimp abdominal muscle, hepatopancreas, gills and pleopods. We used the Trinity...

Cultured shrimp are often exposed to different toxic products during rearing practices that may affect survival and quality of the product. An evaluation of the effects of paralytic shellfish toxins (PSP) from species of Gymnodinium catenatum in white leg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) has been carried out in this study. Death was observed at doses > 5.0 MU (equivalent to 1.1 mug/g of STX), whil...

After damming the Colorado River the freshwater flow was reduced to 1% of its virgin flow to the Upper Gulf of California (UGC). The ecological effects need to be properly documented. The UGC is the nursery area for Litopenaeus stylirostris, the most profitable fishery in the zone. In order to know the relative abundance of L. stylirostris postlarval stage we conducted a sampled survey every 14...

The analysis of integumental pore pattern has identified two intraspecific groups of postlarval shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei (Boone, 1931), a species of which three to five natural populations or groups are expected to be found from Mexico to Peru. Natural distribution and man-made redistributions have not been typified on a population basis in any penaeid, but it is important to do so in this c...

Carrageenan produces both inflammation and pain when injected in mouse paws via enhancement of reactive oxygen species formation. We have investigated an effect of astaxanthin extracted from Litopenaeus vannamei in carrageenan-induced mice paw edema and pain. The current study demonstrates interesting effects from astaxanthin treatment in mice: an inhibition of paw edema induced in hind paw, an...

Shrimp aquaculture is one of the growing animal industries. Breeding stocks with high disease-resistance and growth rate are of particular interest to shrimp breeders. Association studies are useful to find genetic markers for marker assisted selection of animals. Using six Litopenaeus vannamei individuals from a sample population, four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were found in the 5...

The translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP) is an abundant, ubiquitous, and conserved protein which plays important roles in a number of biological processes. In the present study, the TCTP in shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei was analyzed. The TCTP of L.vannamei, a 168-amino-acid polypeptide, shares a high degree of similarity with TCTPs from other species, having two TCTP protein signatures...

Genetic variation within and between fifteen closed broodstock lines of the Pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei, reared at different hatcheries in the Brazilian coast, was assessed by RAPD analysis. Fifty two polymorphic loci were identified when a set of five decamer primers was used in PCR. The genetic diversity analysis within lines evidenced genetic variation loss probably related to ...

Understanding of antimicrobial defence mechanisms of penaeid shrimp should help in the design of efficient strategies for the management and disease control in aquaculture. In this study, we have specifically analysed the expression in circulating hemocytes of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) encoding genes, such as PEN2 and PEN3, ALF, crustin, lysozyme and a putative cysteine-rich peptide. We evi...