Presence of Spiroplasma penaei in plankton, benthos and fauna in shrimps farms of Colombia

Objective. To determine the presence of Spiroplasma penaei on plankton, benhtos and fauna samples, in two commercial shrimp farms. Material and methods. A total of 526 samples of plankton, benthos and fauna were collected; 200 samples were used for histological examination to identify the typical lesions of Spiroplasma, and 326 samples were used for PCR. The samples collected were keep in sterile tubes and preserved in Davidson solution for histological analyses and in 95% ethanol solution for PCR. Results. The presence of Spiroplasma was detected in a water fly through the technique of real time PCR with a melting temperature Tm=84, similar to the positive control used. This sample was sequenced and compared with sequences of bacteria stored in the GenBank database using the BLAST algorithm, founding 100% homology with a fragment of the 16S ribosomal genes of the bacterium Spiroplasma penaei. Conclusions. The water fly can carry the Spiroplasma penaei, however more experimental assays are required, using water flies infected with Spiroplasma penaei and pathogen-free shrimp to prove this findings.