Maui S.

Gupita HOMEWORK # 1

BIO181/A02
 Teaching Shrimps Self-Defense to Fight Infections

As the population increases rapidly, the food consumption per capita and the
demand for animal proteins are expected to increase considerably. Livestock farms,
poultry farms, and fisheries alone cannot compensate for the needed demand. That is
why some invertebrates such as insects are a good source of protein that can make up
to the demand needed. Currently, another common invertebrate that is more palatable
than insects is considered as a good source of protein too, crustaceans such as shrimps.
Shrimp production already represents a significant portion of the aquaculture products
having around 4.88 metric tons of global production. However, infectious diseases that
affect the shrimps may impose a major yield-limiting effects in the production. Several
veterinary drugs are used to prevent losses. But the imprudent use of these drugs resulted
to the development of antimicrobial resistance in many shrimps. Training the defense
system of shrimps against microbial attack is seen as an alternative to combat diseases.

Shrimps do not possess a specific immune system. To fight infection, shrimps rely
solely on their innate immune system responses, which are generally characterized as
rapid, nonspecific, and without the development of immunological memory. But, some
studies show that their immune system can be educated to enhance the protected
immune responses from both related and unrelated pathogens. These invertebrates were
pre-exposed to a nonlethal environment and microbes. The primary infection to the
specimens are done for the specimens’ familiarization to the environment and the
microbes. The secondary and the succeeding exposure are done for them to develop the
immunity to the environment and the microbes. This study shows that the effects of innate
immune memory appeared to persist over a longer time or sometimes across
generations. This capacity of innate immune memory to react in an adaptive manner to
secondary challenges represents a memory-like characteristics of innate immunity called
“trained immunity”.

REFERENCE:

Teaching Shrimps Self-Defense to Fight Infections. (2018, June 15). Retrieved from
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167779918301422