Susceptibility of Macrobachium rosenbergii to local white spot syndrome virus isolate using immersion assay

Abstract

White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) continue to be one of the leading causes of serious epizootic in cultured shrimp. Macrobrachium rosenbergii or giant freshwater prawns are found to be resistant in White spot syndrome virus (WSSV). However, conflicting studies have shown that pathogenicity of WSSV to M.rosenbergii may vary according to the life cycle of prawn, strain of WSSV and the source of the virus during passaging. On this preliminary study, the susceptibility of M. rosenbergii stocks to local strain of WSSV as exposed via immersion assay will be determined. Likewise, the pathogenicity of WSSV will be identified using the median lethal dose (LD50). The confirmation for the presence of WSSV on giant freshwater prawns will be done using nested PCR. The preliminary study will provide valuable data for the succeeding experiments.