Abstract
The microsporidian Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei (EHP) is an intercellular spore former that causes hepatopancreatic microsporidiosis (HPM), a commercially important disease in Penaeus vannamei (white leg shrimp) farming. In this study, albendazole an inhibitor of β-tubulin polymerization in microsporidians was evaluated for its efficacy in reducing EHP infection in P. vannamei. EHP-infected shrimps were exposed to 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 75 mg L−1 of albendazole and evaluated for the reduction in EHP DNA copy numbers at 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24 days post-exposure (dpe) by absolute quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) assay. The expressions of antioxidant enzyme genes viz., cytosolic manganese superoxide dismutase (cMnSOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx); haemolymph aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were assessed at 24 dpe. A maximum of about 98% reduction in EHP DNA copies was observed in the shrimps treated with 75 mg L−1 per day for 24 days. A significant upregulation in relative expressions of GPx genes and a downregulation cMnSOD and CAT genes were observed in shrimps exposed to 25, 50 and 75 mg L‐1 at 24 dpe. A significant reduction in haemolymph AST and ALT levels was observed upon treatment with 25, 50 and 75 mg L−1 at 24 dpe and there are no significant changes in ALP. A virtual molecular docking between albendazole and EHP encoded β-tubulin revealed a best binding interaction with the presence of 11 hydrogens bonds, multiple non-covalent bonds and a very much lower solvation-free energy gain of −15.6 kcal mol−1 in the active sites of protein interactions. Thus, this study identified albendazole as a potential drug to control EHP infection in shrimp, which might help to combat the production losses caused by EHP.
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