Revised: October 25, 2013
Accepted: November 15, 2013
Published online: February 12, 2014
Processing time: 236 Days and 15.9 Hours
Among shrimp viral pathogens, white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) and yellow head virus (YHV) are the most lethal agents, causing serious problems for both the whiteleg shrimp, Penaeus (Litopenaeus) vannamei, and the black tiger shrimp, Penaeus (Penaeus) monodon. Another important virus that infects P. vannamei is infectious myonecrosis virus (IMNV), which induces the white discoloration of affected muscle. In the cases of taura syndrome virus and Penaeus stylirostris densovirus (PstDNV; formerly known as infectious hypodermal and hematopoietic necrosis virus), their impacts were greatly diminished after the introduction of tolerant stocks of P. vannamei. Less important viruses are Penaeus monodon densovirus (PmDNV; formerly called hepatopancreatic parvovirus), and Penaeus monodon nucleopolyhedrovirus (PemoNPV; previously called monodon baculovirus). For freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii nodavirus and extra small virus are considered important viral pathogens. Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) specific to the shrimp viruses described above have been generated and used as an alternative tool in various immunoassays such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, dot blotting, Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. Some of these MAbs were further developed into immunochromatographic strip tests for the detection of WSSV, YHV, IMNV and PemoNPV and into a dual strip test for the simultaneous detection of WSSV/YHV. The strip test has the advantages of speed, as the result can be obtained within 15 min, and simplicity, as laboratory equipment and specialized skills are not required. Therefore, strip tests can be used by shrimp farmers for the pond-side monitoring of viral infection.
Core tip: Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) specific to various shrimp viruses were generated. The MAbs can be used to detect viral infection in shrimp by immunological assays such as Western blotting, dot blotting, and immunohistochemistry. Some of the MAbs were used to developed immunochromatographic strip tests for specific detection of white spot syndrome virus, yellow head virus, infectious myonecrosis virus, and Penaeus monodon nucleopolyhedrovirus formerly known as monodon baculovirus. The strip test has the advantages of speed, as the result can be obtained within 15 min, and simplicity, as laboratory equipment and specialized skills are not required.