Plant & Animal Genome IX Conference

Workshop: Aquaculture
W10_02.html

IMMUNE GENE DISCOVERY IN TWO SPECIES OF PENAEOID SHRIMP

Dept of Biochemistry, MUSC, 173 Ashley Ave, POB 250509, Charleston SC 29425

In research conducted by the Shrimp Immunology Group in Charleston, cDNA libraries were prepared from the hemocytes and hepatopancreas of individual shrimp of two species of the genus Litopenaeus, viz: L. vannamei and L. setiferus. Approximately 2500 clones have been sequenced as ESTs, enabling the identification of several categories of immune function genes including antibiotic peptides, enzymes involved in the prophenoloxidase cascade, lysosomal enzymes, lectins, and enzymes producing reactive oxygen species. Further effort has been focused on the penaeidins, the most abundant immune-function sequences identified in the hemocyte libraries. The penaeidin 3 class was shown to be the most highly represented (and variable) member of the family, and an additional (fourth) class of penaeidins has been discovered. The 4 classes of penaeidins diverged before the separation of L. vannamei and L. setiferus. Research supported by awards from NOS, NSF, MUSC and USDA