Communications: Detection of Anti-Amyloodinium ocellatumAntibody from Cultured Hybrid Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis×M. chrysops) during an Epizootic of Amyloodiniosis

Abstract

After an epizootic of amyloodiniosis (caused by the protozoan Amyloodinium ocellatum) in a commercial aquaculture facility for hybrid striped bass (female striped bass Morone saxatilis × male white bass M. chrysops), sera from these fish, as well as from others that had been experimentally immunized with the parasite, were evaluated by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for antibody specific for the parasite. Titers were similar between the fish infested in culture and the experimentally immunized fish, and were significantly higher in both the cultured and artificially exposed fish than in unexposed fish. These results suggest that an infestation of A. ocellatum can stimulate the production of humoral antibodies to the parasite, providing further evidence that natural infestations of the parasite may confer protective resistance in fish that survive the initial parasitic infestation.