Expression of foreign genes in primary cultured cells of the blue shrimp Penaeus stylirostris

The ability to introduce and express foreign genes can greatly facilitate in vitro studies of the molecular biology of an organism. We report here the first use of modified retroviral vectors to achieve foreign gene expression in primary cultured cells from the Oka organ and ovary of the blue shrimp Penaeus stylirostris (Litopenaeus) stylirostris (Holthuis 1980). Of the heterologous promoters tested, the Moloney murine leukemia virus and Rous sarcoma virus promoters mediated the highest levels of reporter gene expression. Firefly luciferase and Escherichia coli beta -galactosidase were successfully used as reporter genes in cultured cells from both Oka organ and ovary. These in vitro systems can be exploited for the study of shrimp cellular biology and regulation of gene expression.