Immunological Identification of Site of Vitellin Synthesis in Freshwater Prawn Macrobrachium malcolmsonii

Abstract

Shanju, S. and Geraldine, P. 2009. Immunological identification of site of vitellin synthesis in freshwater prawn Macrobrachium malcolmsonii. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 36: 141–146. The site of vitellin synthesis in the freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium malcolmsonii, was examined immunologically using the antibodies raised against the vitellin purified from mature ovaries of M. malcolmsonii. In double diffusion test, single precipitin lines were found between center well containing immune serum and peripheral wells containing purified vitellin, ovarian homogenate, female hepatopancreas and female hemolymph. The precipitin lines were continuous suggesting that immune serum precipitated the proteins of complete identitiy. Immunoelectrophoretic and immunoblotting studies reveal positive reaction in ovary, egg, female hemolymph and female hepatopancreas but not in male hemolymph, male hepatpancreas, gill and muscle. These results suggest hepatopancreas as possible site of yolk protein synthesis in freshwater prawn M. malcolmsonii.