ABSTRACT
Acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND) has caused losses to shrimp farmers worldwide owing to Vibrio parahaemolyticus (VPAHPND). Selective breeding for disease resistance of shrimp was used as an alternative strategy for disease control. Five subsamples of shrimp from 20 full-sib families were subjected to a cohabitation challenge test. Juveniles of P. semisulcatus (mean weight 2.5 ± 0.17 g) were tested for survival after challenge with VPAHPND. Mortality in the challenge test was recorded daily, and the experiment was terminated after 96 days when the mortality ceased. Moderate heritabilities were estimated in resistance to VPAHPND based on a linear model (LM) and threshold model (TM). This indicates that disease resistance is a heritable trait, and a challenge test may serve as a basis for selection for resistance to VPAHPND in P. semisulcatus. However, further investigation is needed to confirm and quantify the additive genetic variation for resistance to VPAHPND in P. semisulcatus.
Acknowledgments
The authors wishes to thank owners of AL-Dibah Triangle Zone (DTZ) shrimp farm for running the challenge tests as well as all technical staff for the production of the families.
Ethical approval
All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed by the authors. The guidelines of the New South Wales (Australia) state government for the humane harvesting of fish and crustaceans were followed (http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/livestock/animal-welfare/general/fish/shellfish) with respect to details regarding the transport of the shrimp and their laboratory maintenance.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.