Molecular detection of acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND) in Penaeus vannamei shrimps in Costa Rica
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Date
2020
Authors
Nelson Peña-Navarro
Ruth Castro-Vásquez
Bernardo Vargas-Leitón
Gaby Dolz
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Abstract
Acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND) is a bacterial disease associated to severe mortality in farmed
shrimps, and caused by Vibrio parahaemolyticus containing plasmid pVA-1 encoding pirA and pirB toxins. This
study investigates the presence of Vibrio spp. carrying plasmid pVA-1 in post larvae and juveniles Penaeus
vannamei from farms located in Costa Rica. Moreover, a possible corelation between Vibrio spp. presence,
management parameters, and water quality was also investigated. Between 2017 and 2018, post larvae, the first
water pumped into ponds, and juvenile shrimp (6 to 7 weeks after stocking) were collected from 15 farms located
in the Gulf of Nicoya and the country's Central Pacific region. On the day when the juvenile shrimp were
collected, a survey was applied to farmers to obtain information about management conditions, finally physicalchemical
parameters of pond water were measured. Plasmidic pVA-1 pirA and pirB genes were detected in
hepatopancreas of juvenile shrimp in 5 (33.3%) farms, while Vibrio spp. were found in 6 (40.0%) farms.
Sequencing of pVA-1, pirA and pirB genes showed 99–100% similarity to pathogenic Vibrio parahemolyticus XN89
homologous genes identified in Vietnamese shrimps. Statistically significant differences were found in the water
volume (p < .03), rate of water replacement (p < .04), and farms disease history (p < .05). A correlation
between presence of Vibrio spp. and water quality was not established. The molecular diagnosis of Vibrio spp., the
plasmid and the genes encoding toxins that are associated with AHPND are reported for the first time in Costa
Rica. Further studies aimed to isolate AHPND-causing Vibrio spp. from ponds, to generate histopathological data,
and to establish economic losses due to AHPND mortalities in Penaeus vannamei farms, are needed to clarify the
role and pathogenic features of Vibrio spp. in AHPND.
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Keywords
Vibrio parahaemolyticus, pirA gene, pirB gene, pVA-1 plasmid
Citation
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2020.735190