Acquisition of susceptibility to Vibrio penaeicida in Penaeus stylirostris postlarvae and juveniles

Vibriosis is a major disease problem in shrimp aquaculture, affecting all developmental stages, from larvae in hatchery tanks to juveniles and broodstock in growout ponds. However, bacterial strains responsible for vibriosis in the successive stages are usually considered to be different, and virulence specificity has been reported both at the species and at the stage levels. The so-called << Syndrome 93 >> is a seasonal juvenile vibriosis caused by Vibrio penaeicida which affects Penaeus stylirostris in growout ponds and broodstock tanks in New Caledonia. This pathology does not cause any mortality in hatchery or nursery phases. An experimental infection design using balneation of postlarvae and early juveniles in V. penneicida suspensions was used to evaluate the developmental stage at which shrimp become sensitive to this vibriosis. We demonstrated that the acquisition of susceptibility to this pathogen is very sudden and correlated with the acquisition of the definitive rostral formula, and from this draw conclusions regarding virulence mechanisms of V. penaeicida in P. stylirostris. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.