Vibrio areninigrae as a pathogenic bacterium in a crustacean.

The occurrence of infectious diseases poses a significant threat to the aquaculture industry worldwide. Therefore, characterization of potentially harmful pathogens is one of the most important strategies to control disease outbreaks. In the present study, we investigated for the first time the pathogenicity of two Vibrio species, Vibrio metschnikovii, a foodborne pathogen that causes fatalities in humans, and Vibrio areninigrae, a bacteria isolated from black sand in Korea, using a crustacean model, the signal crayfish Pacifastacus leniusculus.

The N-terminal peptide generated after activation of prophenoloxidase affects crayfish hematopoiesis.

The circulating hemocytes of invertebrates are important mediators of immunity, and hemocyte homeostasis is of high importance for survival and health of crustaceans. The prophenoloxidase (proPO)-activating system is one of the most essential immune reactions, which can be activated by pattern recognition proteins from microorganisms. Activation of proPO by the proPO activating enzyme generates an N-terminal peptide, with cleavage site after Arg176, as well as the active enzyme phenoloxidase, which is the key enzyme for melanization.

Astakine1 forms protein complex in plasma.

Astakine 1 is a small cytokine-like peptide which is directly involved in hematopoiesis in crustaceans. Astakines are present in many different invertebrate groups primarily in arthropods. In this study we found that astakine1 was present as a high molecular weight (HMW) complex in plasma.

Cell surface transglutaminase required for nodavirus entry into freshwater prawn hemocytes.

To identify molecules involved in Macrobrachium rosenbergii nodavirus (MrNV) entry into hemocytes of the giant freshwater prawn M. rosenbergii, biotinylated prawn hemocyte membrane proteins were prepared, purified and separated by SDS-PAGE. The proteins were blotted on the nitrocellulose membrane before incubation with the MrNV capsid protein (MrNV-CP) by a VOPBA technique.

Characterization of a cold-active transglutaminase from a crayfish, Pacifastacus leniusculus.

Transglutaminase (TGase) from signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) and its activity at low temperatures was studied. TGase is an abundant protein in the hematopoietic (HPT) cells and this tissue was used for TGase enzyme preparation. The optimal temperature and pH for the activity of crayfish TGase were determined.

Role of astakine1 in regulating transglutaminase activity.

Transglutaminase (TGase) has been implicated in maintaining the undifferentiated stage of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) in the crayfish Pacifastacus leniusculus. TGase activity has been reported to be regulated by astakine1, an essential crayfish cytokine for inducing new hemocyte synthesis in hematopoietic tissue (HPT). Here, the role of astakine1 in TGase activity regulation and clotting protein (CP) cross-linking was characterized.

Characterization and PCR Detection Of Binary, Pir-Like Toxins from Vibrio parahaemolyticus Isolates that Cause Acute Hepatopancreatic Necrosis Disease (AHPND) in Shrimp.

Unique isolates of Vibrio parahaemolyticus (VPAHPND) have previously been identified as the causative agent of acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND) in shrimp. AHPND is characterized by massive sloughing of tubule epithelial cells of the hepatopancreas (HP), proposed to be induced by soluble toxins released from VPAHPND that colonize the shrimp stomach. Since these toxins (produced in broth culture) have been reported to cause AHPND pathology in reverse gavage bioassays with shrimp, we used ammonium sulfate precipitation to prepare protein fractions from broth cultures of VPAHPND isolates for screening by reverse gavage assays.

Reprint of: Virus-binding proteins and their roles in shrimp innate immunity.

Disease outbreaks caused by viral pathogens constitute a major limitation to development of the shrimp aquaculture industry. Many research have been conducted to better understand how host shrimp respond to viral infections with the aim of using the gained knowledge to develop better strategies for disease management and control. One approach has been to study the interactions between host and viral proteins, and particularly host virus-binding proteins that might play an important role in the viral infection process.

Virus-binding proteins and their roles in shrimp innate immunity.

Disease outbreaks caused by viral pathogens constitute a major limitation to development of the shrimp aquaculture industry. Many research have been conducted to better understand how host shrimp respond to viral infections with the aim of using the gained knowledge to develop better strategies for disease management and control. One approach has been to study the interactions between host and viral proteins, and particularly host virus-binding proteins that might play an important role in the viral infection process.