Meeting Abstract

S2.11  Sunday, Jan. 4  Parasitic Crustaceans as Vectors of Viruses OVERSTREET, RM*; JOVONOVICH, J; MA, H; University of Southern Mississippi robin.overstreet@usm.edu

Parasitic crustaceans serve as both hosts and vectors of viruses as well as of parasites and other microbial pathogenic agents. Few of the presumably numerous associations are presently known. Recently, argulids and gnathopod isopods have been documented to host blood parasites. Because the agents can be observed with a microscope, they are better recognized than the smaller viral and other agents. Some agents, including viruses, are harmful to the crustacean parasites host and others are not. Many viruses that do not appear pathogenic are seen in ultrastructural images from a range of invertebrate hosts, including crustaceans. Some viruses have been implicated in causing disease in the host. For example, some lymphocystis viruses of fishes presumably are transmitted to the dermis by copepods and to the viscera by an isopod. Similarly, argulids seem to transmit the viral agent of spring viremia of carp, and copepods have been implicated in transmitting infectious hematopoietic necrosis, infectious salmon anaemia, and infectious pancreatic necrosis to salmon. Other viruses can be vectored to their hosts through an additional animal. We exposed three viruses, white spot syndrome virus, yellowhead virus, and Taura syndrome virus, which cause mortalities in wild and cultured commercial penaeid shrimps, to crustacean parasites on fish and crabs. Using real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis, we show that the viruses can occur in the crustacean parasites with a greater copy number per microgram of nucleic acid than that of its concurrently exposed host. The vector relationship indicates an additional potential means of transmitting and disseminating the disease-causing agents to the highly susceptible shrimp hosts. Funded by NSF award no. 0529684; USDA, CSREES, award no. 2006-38808-03589; and NOAA, award no. NA08NOS4730322 and subaward no. NA17FU2841.