We investigated the viability and fatty acid synthetic activity of in vitro cultured Perkinsus marinus (Dermo) in lipid-free medium and estuarine water, and the infectivity of P. marinus maintained in artificial seawater (ASW). Viability and fatty acid synthetic activity in 7 d old P. marinus meronts maintained in lipid-free medium and estuarine water were tested. The infectivity of meronts incubated in ASW was examined by first incubating P. marinus meronts in ASW for 2, 3 or 7 d, and then inoculating viable ASW-incubated meronts into the shell cavity of individual oysters Crassostrea virginica. P. marinus infection prevalence and intensity in oysters were determined 9 wk post-inoculation. Heavy mortality occurred in meronts maintained in estuarine water, a drop from an initial value of 100% viable to 7.8 and 6.1% after 3 and 14 d incubation, respectively. Viability was 85 and 67% in meronts maintained in lipid-free medium for 3 and 24 d, respectively. Meronts kept in lipid-free medium for 14 d retained their ability to synthesize fatty acids. Viable meronts incubated in ASW remained infective for up to 7 d. The infection prevalences were 85, 48 and 100%, in the treatments inoculated with viable meronts that were incubated in ASW for 2, 3 and 7 d, respectively. Infection prevalence in the group inoculated with viable meronts immediately after they were transferred to ASW ranged from 61 to 85%. Our results suggest that in nature meronts can survive for at least 14 d outside the host. Viable meronts are not only infective, but are also able to replicate and retain their fatty acid synthetic ability for 7 d.
KEY WORDS: Perkinsus marinus · Viability · Infectivity · Fatty acid synthesis
Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherDis Aquat Org 71: [131][132][133][134][135][136][137][138][139] 2006 fatty acid synthetic capability (Soudant & Chu 2001, Chu et al. 2002. The meront stage of this parasite differs from all other parasitic protozoans that rely on their host for essential lipids. P. marinus meronts can synthesize a range of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, including the essential fatty acid, arachidonic acid (AA) (Soudant & Chu 2001, Chu et al. 2002. The ability of P. marinus to synthesize AA is novel. No other parasitic protozoan has been reported to have such a capability. This capability may be related to the disease transmission processes, since lipids are essential membrane components and comprise energy reserves for growth and development and at times of no or limited nutrient supply.It has long been hypothesized that Perkinsus marinus infective cells can survive in nature for a considerable length of time and remain infective when they enter a new host. However, no study has been conducted to examine the viability and infectivity of water-borne P. marinus infective cells, how long the primary transmission stage meront remains viable in the water column, and whether or not the 'viable' meronts are infective. No intermediary host is known to act as a ...