Haemocytic defence in black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon)

To study the usefulness of haemolymph for shrimp health assessment, characteristics of both the cellular and humoral composition of growing juvenile Penaeus monodon (n = 16) were determined.Haemolymph was obtained by a puncture of the ventral part of the haemocoel.Using routine staining methods five different cell types could be distinguished by light microscopy.Electron microscopy studies revealed granulocytes, semigranulocytes and hyalinocytes.Mean total haemocyte count was 50.9u10 6 cellsml -1 while mean haemolymph plasma protein content was 79.9 gl -1 consisting of one major and one to two minor fractions.It was concluded that haemolymph characterisation might be a useful tool for health estimation of P. monodon, but standardisation of the techniques is highly needed.6JG TQNG QH VJG JCGOCVQRQKGVKE VKUUWG KP JCGOQE[VG RTQFWEVKQP CPF OCVWTCVKQP KP VJG DNCEM VKIGT UJTKOR 2GPCGWU OQPQFQP % $ 6 XCP FG $TCCM / * # $QVVGTDNQO 9 .KW 0 6CXGTPG 9 2 9 XCP FGT -PCCR CPF , * 9 / 4QODQWV (KUJ 5JGNNHKUJ +OOWPQNQI[ *#'/#6121+'6+% 6+557'