Taura syndrome in Penaeus vannamei:demonstration of a viral etiology

Abstract

Taura syndrome (TS) was hypothesized to be caused by a virus and proven experimentally by meeting the criteria of Rivers' postulates. This was accomplished through 3 serial infectivity studies utilizing specific-pathogen-free Penaeus vannamei as the host for the TS virus (TSV). Test animals were infected via intramuscular injection with either a crude or cell-free suspension of the virus. The source of the crude homogenate was TSV-infected Ecuadorian P. vannarnel, which were collected during August 1993. Both types of viral inocula caused cumulative mortalities of 73 to 87'.';, among treatment groups. Diagnosis of TS was based on histological analysis of moribund shrimp collected during each experiment. All moribund shrimp, collected between 1 to 3 d post-injection, demonstrated moderate to severe pathognomonic TS les~ons. Both gross external and histological lesions, characteristic of chronic phase TS, were observed In 25 to 100"t, of all survivors. Virions with a buoyant density of approximately 1.337 g m1 ', lcosahedral morphology, and a diameter of 31 to 32 nm, characteristics which suggest that TSV is a member of either the Picornaviridae or Nodaviridae, were recovered from the dead shrimp collected during each of the 3 infectivity studies. Comparisons of TSV samples isolated from naturally infected P. vannamei from Hawaii (USA) and Ecuador indicate that the same virus was responsible for the TS epizootics in both of these shrimp growing regions.

Disease will limit future food supply from the global crustacean fishery and aquaculture sectors

“…Due to their larger size and characteristic pathology, the DNA viruses (epitomised by the bacilliform viruses of the hepatopancreas of many crustaceans, the white spot syndrome virus of penaeid shrimp, and the virus infection of spiny lobsters, PAV1) have been described in most host groups studied with any level of detail (for examples see Takahashi et al, 1994;and Stentiford, 2008;Behringer et al, 2011). Viruses with RNA genomes, some of which have devastating consequences for cultured populations, are also being increasingly described, particularly from intensively farmed penaeid shrimp hosts (for examples see Boonyaratpalin et al, 1993;Hasson et al, 1995;Poulos et al, 2006;Lightner, 2011). Whilst relatively little is known about viruses of wild crustaceans, it is critical that as much data as possible be collected on viral pathogens from wild decapod stocks (Johnson, 1984;Bonami and Lightner, 1991).…”

Susceptibility to Taura Syndrome Virus of Some Penaeid Shrimp Species Native to the Gulf of Mexico and the Southeastern United States

“…TSV has been characterized as a picornavirus (Bonami et al, in press;Hasson et al, 1995;Lightner, 1996). Infections caused by this virus, first recognized in farms near the mouth of the Taura River, Ecuador, in June 1992, have been reviewed by Lightner et al (1995) and Brock et al (1995).…”

Performance and immunological resistance of Litopenaeus vannamei fed a β-1,3/1,6-glucan-supplemented diet after per os challenge with the Infectious myonecrosis virus (IMNV)

“…The per os viral challenge followed the methodology described by Hasson et al (1995) and Wang et al (1999), with minor modifications. Hasson et al (1995) used inocula of Taura syndrome virus (TSV) to infect shrimp through intramuscular injection over three consecutive bioassays.…”

“…Hasson et al (1995) used inocula of Taura syndrome virus (TSV) to infect shrimp through intramuscular injection over three consecutive bioassays. Wang et al (1999) challenged shrimp of 0.5, 6.4, and 5.0 g body weight with infected minced tissue contaminated with the white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) only on day 0 of rearing twice a day (from 5 to 10% of their body weight per feeding).…”