Biological properties of a natural agglutinin in the hemolymph of Indian white prawn, Penaeus indicus H. Milne!Edwards

Biological properties of a natural agglutinin in the hemolymph of Penaeus indicus were established. Agglutination was observed against different strains of bacteria and erythrocytes and strong agglutination against a Vibrio sp. isolated from a diseased prawn gut (titer 256). Minimum concentration of agglutinin required for agglutination was 0.8 mug/ml. The agglutination reaction was affected by various sugars and ions. Agglutination and cross-linking process were inhibited by simple sugars like xylose, raffinose and trehalose, but stimulated by maltose, lactose, glucose, mannose and cellobiose. Ca2+ and Mg2+ ion supplementations were not essential for agglutination. Natural agglutinin was found to be a specific recognition molecule, which functions as defense protein with simultaneous agglutinating, hemolytic and antibacterial properties. Monitoring hemolymph levels of agglutinin may be helpful in disease detection. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.