Seasonal variations of immune parameters in the coelomic fluid of sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus cultured in pond

Abstract

In order to understand the effects of seasonal change on the immunity of sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus cultured in pond, A. japonicus with body weight of 12.2 AE 4.5 g (sample A) and 32.6 AE 7.1 g (sample B), respectively, were collected monthly and randomly from a typical pond during a year cycle and employed for the evaluation of immunocompetence. Simultaneously, the environmental factors in the pond including water temperature, pH, salinity and dissolved oxygen (DO) were measured using a handheld multiparameter meter. The activities of acid phosphatase (ACP), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), lysozyme (LYZ), phenoloxidase (PO), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) in the coelomic fluid were selected for the evaluation of A. japonicus immunocompetence and determined using biochemical methods. The results showed that in both samples, the activities of all determined enzymes had small values in winter and early spring, and LYZ, CAT and MPO activities also presented small values in summer, suggesting that pond-cultured A. japonicus underwent immunosuppression twice during a year cycle, and the immunosuppression occurred in winter and early spring was more severe than that occurred in summer. In addition, most of the determined enzymes showed different variations between the two samples, and had significantly negative correlation with protein concentration, which was significantly and negatively correlated with water temperature, revealing that body weight and water temperature might have crucial effects on the immunity of A. japonicus cultured in pond.

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Dietary supplementation with Sporosarcina aquimarina MS4 enhances juvenile sea cucumber ( Apostichopus japonicus ) growth, immunity and disease resistance against Vibrio splendidus infection at low temperature

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