Research Product

A rod-shaped, free and occluded virus exists in a marine shrimp, indicating that marine crustacea are potential hosts for viruses similar to certain viruses infecting insects and mites. So far, the virus has been found only in shrimp taken from near Cedar Key and experimentally exposed to the toxic chemical, AroclorŪ 1254 (PCB). The virus probably is a natural parasite, however, previously undetected, of estuarine and marine shrimp. Studies of possible interactions of the PCB and virus in pink shrimp may provide valuable information needed to clarify the relationship between natural infectious diseases and pollutant chemicals in the aquatic environment.