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A New Pathogenic Virus In The Caribbean Spiny Lobster Panulirus Argus From The Florida Keys, Jeffrey D. Shields, Donald C. Behringer Jr.

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

A pathogenic virus was diagnosed from juvenile Caribbean spiny lobsters Panulirus argus from the Florida Keys. Moribund lobsters had characteristically milky hemolymph that did not clot. Altered hyalinocytes and semigranulocytes, but not granulocytes, were observed with light microscopy. Infected hemocytes had emarginated, condensed chromatin, hypertrophied nuclei and faint eosinophilic Cowdry-type-A inclusions. In some cases, infected cells were observed in soft connective tissues. With electron microscopy, unenveloped, nonoccluded, icosahedral virions (182 +/- 9 nm SD) were diffusely spread around the inner periphery of the nuclear envelope. Virions also occurred in loose aggregates in the cytoplasm or were free in the hemolymph. …