A TaqMan Real-Time PCR Assay for Quantifying Type III Hepatopancreatic Parvovirus Infections in Wild Broodstocks and Hatchery-Reared Postlarvae of Fenneropenaeus chinensis in Korea

A highly sensitive and specific TaqMan real-time PCR was used to quantify hepatopancreatic parvovirus (HPV) type III infections in wild broodstocks and hatchery-reared postlarvae (PL) of Fenneropenaeus chinensis. Totals of 159 and 162 wild brooders from three locations were captured, and 140 and 180 PL were obtained from seven and six commercial hatcheries in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Among the three wild broodstock groups from 2007, only 1 group showed HPV infection and 3.2% of 159 brooders were positive for HPV infection. In 2008, HPV infections were observed from all three wild broodstock groups with $1.93{\times}10^4$ copies/mg tissue of pleopods. Of 162 brooders, 26.6% were positive for HPV infection. No PL from the two hatcheries collected in 2007 showed HPV infection, and PL from the rest of the five hatcheries had up to $1.74{\times}10^6$ copies/ng of DNA, and PL from three hatcheries showed HPV infections with over 1,000 copies/ng of DNA. The PL from all seven hatcheries collected in 2008 showed up to $2.10{\times}10^5$ HPV copies/ng of DNA. PL from two hatcheries showed less than 100 copies/ng of DNA, but PL from the rest of the hatcheries showed HPV infections with over 1,000 copies/ng of DNA. These results show that HPV type III is widely distributed in Korea in addition to previously reported HPV type I, and they can be effectively detected by type-specific realtime PCR.