DAO prepress abstract  -  doi: 10.3354/dao01908

ABSTRACT: Necrotizing hepatopancreatitis (NHP) is considered to be one of the most important bacterial diseases affecting penaeid shrimp culture and is caused by an unclassified gram-negative, pleomorphic, intracellular α-Proteobacterium. Due to the enteric nature of the bacteria PCR is the one non-lethal method available for detection of the pathogen. Over a decade ago, a PCR protocol was developed for detection of NHP, which over the subsequent years has been shown to occasionally generate false positive reactions. The University of Arizona Aquaculture Pathology Laboratory (UAZAPL) has developed a set of primers and PCR cycling parameters that have been tested on a variety of DNA templates, using two types of PCR reagent systems, which eliminate the generation of false positive amplicons.