Black gill disease of Pacific white leg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) by Aspergillus flavus

Abstract

Objective: To study the epidemiology of black gill disease in white leg shrimp which is a major problem being faced by the commercial shrimp farmers who are culturing Litopenaeus vannamei (L. vannamei) in India. Methods: The normal and infected shrimps were collected from shrimp pond and the gill was preserved in appropriate preservative for histopathological examination and scanning electron microscope analysis. Pathogenic fungus was isolated from black gill of L. vannamei in potato dextrose agar medium. Morphological study and fungal strain identification were done by using light microscopy and scanning electron microscope. Fungal DNA was amplified by ITS4 and ITS5 primers and gene sequencing was done by Macrogen Inc., Korea. Phylogenetic tree was prepared by using MEGA 6 software. Results: Fungal spores and hyphae were observed both in internal and external gill surface of infected shrimps. Fungal spores were round in shape and mature sporangium was observed. The histopathology study showed clearly that infected gill was damaged by the fungi. Scanning electron microscopic study showed adherence of fungi in infected gill. Internal transcribed spacer gene sequencing revealed that it was caused by Aspergillus flavus. Conclusions: The outcome of the present study would help to know the cause of black gill disease and to understand the effect of pathogenic fungi in shrimp culture. This study will initiate researchers for work in field of treatment or prevention of black gill disease in commercial L. vannamei culture.