A Microsatellite DNA Marker Developed for Identifying Disease-resistant Population of Giant Black Tiger Shrimp, Penaeus monodon

Abstract

White spot disease caused by white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) poses major problems that result in huge economic losses each year in shrimp aquaculture throughout the world. In the present study, microsatellite-based DNA fingerprints have been compared between naturally occurring WSSV disease-resistant and susceptible populations of giant black tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon, to find DNA markers. For the first time, we report here a microsatellite locus, which, after amplification by polymerase chain reaction, provides a highly statistically significant DNA fingerprint of 71 bp, only in disease susceptible populations but not in disease-resistant shrimp populations, whereas a 317 bp band is common in both. The absence of the former DNA marker will be very useful to identify disease-resistant broodstock of P. monodon for marker-assisted selection in breeding programs to generate disease-free shrimps (P. monodon) in the aquaculture industry.