HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Free Full Text (PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (20) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Holman, J. D. Articles by Burnett, L. E. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Holman, J. D. Articles by Burnett, L. E. Related Collections Ecology Immunology Physiology Prokaryotes Crustaceans

Effects of Hypercapnic Hypoxia on the Clearance of Vibrio campbellii in the Atlantic Blue Crab, Callinectes sapidus Rathbun

Grice Marine Laboratory, College of Charleston, 205 Fort Johnson, Charleston, South Carolina 29412

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: burnettl{at}cofc.edu

Callinectes sapidus, the Atlantic blue crab, encounters hypoxia, hypercapnia (elevated CO₂), and bacterial pathogens in its natural environment. We tested the hypothesis that acute exposure to hypercapnic hypoxia (HH) alters the crab’s ability to clear a pathogenic bacterium, Vibrio campbellii 90–69B3, from the hemolymph. Adult male crabs were held in normoxia (well-aerated seawater) or HH (seawater with PO₂ = 4 kPa; PCO₂ = 1.8 kPa; and pH = 6.7–7.1) and were injected with 2.5 x 10⁴ Vibrio g^–1 body weight. The animals were held in normoxia or in HH for 45, 75, or 210–240 min before being injected with Vibrio, and were maintained in their respective treatment conditions for the 120-min duration of the experiment. Vibrio colony-forming units (CFU) ml^–1 hemolymph were quantified before injection, and at 10, 20, and 40 min afterward. Total hemocytes (THC) ml^–1 of hemolymph were counted 24 h before (–24 h), and at 10 and 120 min after injection. Sham injections of saline produced no change in the bacterial or hemocyte counts in any treatment group. Among the groups that received bacterial injections, Vibrio was almost completely cleared within 1 h, but at 10-min postinjection, Vibrio CFU ml^–1 hemolymph was significantly higher in animals held in HH for 75 and 210–240 min than in those held in normoxia. Within 10 min after crabs were injected with bacteria, THC ml^–1 significantly decreased in control and HH45 treatments, but not in the HH75 and HH210–240 treatments. By 120 min after injection of bacteria, hemocyte counts decreased in all but the HH45 group. These data demonstrate that HH significantly impairs the ability of blue crabs to clear Vibrio from the hemolymph. These results also suggest that HH alters the normal role of circulating hemocytes in the removal of an invading pathogen.

Abbreviations: CFU, colony-forming unit • HH, hypercapnic hypoxia • PPO, prophenoloxidase • THC, total hemocyte count

This article has been cited by other articles:

				I. T. Helenius, T. Krupinski, D. W. Turnbull, Y. Gruenbaum, N. Silverman, E. A. Johnson, P. H. S. Sporn, J. I. Sznajder, and G. J. Beitel Elevated CO2 suppresses specific Drosophila innate immune responses and resistance to bacterial infection PNAS, November 3, 2009; 106(44): 18710 - 18715. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. K. Thibodeaux, K. G. Burnett, and L. E. Burnett Energy metabolism and metabolic depression during exercise in Callinectes sapidus, the Atlantic blue crab: effects of the bacterial pathogen Vibrio campbellii J. Exp. Biol., November 1, 2009; 212(21): 3428 - 3439. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. M. Macey, I. O. Achilihu, K. G. Burnett, and L. E. Burnett Effects of Hypercapnic Hypoxia on Inactivation and Elimination of Vibrio campbellii in the Eastern Oyster, Crassostrea virginica Appl. Envir. Microbiol., October 1, 2008; 74(19): 6077 - 6084. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				N. B. Terwilliger Hemocyanins and the immune response: defense against the dark arts Integr. Comp. Biol., October 1, 2007; 47(4): 662 - 665. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. S. Payne, M. R. Hall, L. Sly, and D. G. Bourne Microbial Diversity within Early-Stage Cultured Panulirus ornatus Phyllosomas Appl. Envir. Microbiol., March 15, 2007; 73(6): 1940 - 1951. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. A. Scholnick, K. G. Burnett, and L. E. Burnett Impact of Exposure to Bacteria on Metabolism in the Penaeid Shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei. Biol. Bull., August 1, 2006; 211(1): 44 - 49. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. E. Burnett, J. D. Holman, D. D. Jorgensen, J. L. Ikerd, and K. G. Burnett Immune Defense Reduces Respiratory Fitness in Callinectes sapidus, the Atlantic Blue Crab. Biol. Bull., August 1, 2006; 211(1): 50 - 57. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				N. B. Terwilliger and M. C. Ryan Functional and Phylogenetic Analyses of Phenoloxidases from Brachyuran (Cancer magister) and Branchiopod (Artemia franciscana, Triops longicaudatus) Crustaceans. Biol. Bull., February 1, 2006; 210(1): 38 - 50. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. E. Burgents, K. G. Burnett, and L. E. Burnett Effects of Hypoxia and Hypercapnic Hypoxia on the Localization and the Elimination of Vibrio campbellii in Litopenaeus vannamei, the Pacific White Shrimp Biol. Bull., June 1, 2005; 208(3): 159 - 168. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]