Meeting Abstract

P1.43  Tuesday, Jan. 4  Identification of age limitations in hemic neoplasia development in the soft shell clam Mya arenaria. TARASKA, NG*; BOETTGER, SA; West Chester University of Pennsylvania; West Chester University of Pennsylvania nt648886@wcupa.edu

Hemic neoplasia is one of the six most destructive diseases among bivalve mollusk populations, specifically in populations of Mya arenaria. The disease is characterized by the development of abnormal, round blood cells that proliferate and immortalize. In the soft-shelled clam M.arenaria a potential correlation between age and neoplasia development has been suggested based on size limitations of neoplastic animals found in natural populations. So far no conclusive information is available as to age-specific susceptibility (based on size classes). In this study we injected clams from six different age groups (Group 1: 5-10mm through Group 6: 71-80mm) with lysed neoplastic clam blood, which has proven in past experiments to initiate the disease in animals at 2 years of age. Prior to injection of lysed neoplastic blood all experimental animals were biopsied to ensure absence of neoplasia and separated based on their shell size. Two treatments, a control of clam growth medium injected animals and an experimental treatment consisting of animals injected with neoplastic blood lysate were used to examine the development of hemic neoplasia. Injection amounts of control and experimental animals were based upon a 2.5% of total blood volume within each size class. Clams from both treatments were biopsied weekly for 8 weeks to examine neoplasic stages 1-4 (1 = 0-25%, 2=26-50%, 3=51-75% and 4=76-100% neoplastic hemoctyes). Based on our results, M.arenaria that are the most susceptible to developing advanced stages of hemic neoplasia range from 40 to 70mm in length (CAS funds from WCU to NGT).