BACTERIA IN CRYOPRESERVED SPERM MASS OF THE WHITE SHRIMP Penaeus vannamei.

Background: Cryopreservation and global trading of P. vannamei sperm will become a potential and important biotechnological tool. Nevertheless, information of the possible transfer of bacteria in cryopreserved shrimp sperm has not been registered yet.

Objective: The objective of this work was to determine the type of bacteria that could be cryopreserved together with white shrimp sperm masses.

Materials And Methods: Sixteen sperm masses were cryopreserved in 10% DMSO and 0.5 M trehalose and sixteen fresh sperm masses were used for bacterial analysis. Bacterial colonies were isolated and selected for sequencing.

Results: Strains were seawater borne and facultative aerobic bacteria from the genera Bacillus, Micrococcus, Paracoccus, Ruegeria and Staphylococcus. Most of them have been related with benefits to its host. None were pathogenic for P. vannamei.

Conclusion: Cryopreservation implies preserving pathogenic or beneficial bacteria together with the sample. Therefore, it is possible to enhance cryopreserved samples or disperse pathogenic bacteria, which needs to be prevented.