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Variation of antibacterial activity in the haemocytes of the shore crab, Carcinus maenas, with temperature

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 October 2019

June R.S. Chisholm  and
Valerie J. Smith
June R.S. Chisholm
Affiliation:
School of Biological & Medical Sciences, Gatty Marine Laboratory, University of St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, KY16 8LB.
Valerie J. Smith
Affiliation:
To whom correspondence should be addressed
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Abstract

The effects of environmental temperature on haemocyte antibacterial activity were investigated for the shore crab, Carcinus maenas. Haemocyte lysate supernatants (HLS), prepared from groups of five animals (sampled at monthly intervals over one year and covering a range of temperatures) were assayed for their ability to reduce viable counts of the marine bacterium Psychrobacter immobilis NQMB 308 during 4 h incubation. Parallel measurements were made of HLS protein concentration, total haemocyte count and ambient aquarium sea-water temperature. Despite wide variation in the values derived for each parameter, the results show that powerful antibacterial activity was present in HLS for all months except February and August, when respective aquarium water temperatures were at their lowest and highest for the year. This emphasizes the importance of environmental factors in immune capability: a phenomenon of significance not only to commercial shellfish culture but also for the use of immune parameters as biomarkers of environmental disturbance.

Type
Short Communications
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 74 , Issue 4 , November 1994 , pp. 979 - 982
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 1994

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