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Tanner crab Chionocetes bairdi Rathbun haemocyte classification and an evaluation of using differential counts to measure infection with a fungal disease
Author(s) -
MIX M. C.,
SPARKS A. K.
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
journal of fish diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.819
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1365-2761
pISSN - 0140-7775
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2761.1980.tb00399.x
Subject(s) - biology , eosinophilic , fungus , fungal disease , immunology , granulocyte , differential diagnosis , zoology , pathology , ecology , microbiology and biotechnology , botany , medicine , genetics
. The circulating haemocytes of the tanner crab, Chionocetes bairdi , were studied and classified as hyalinocytes, intermediate granulocytes and eosinophilic granulocytes. Differential haemocyte counts of normal crabs and crabs infected with an apparently pathogenic unnamed ascomycete fungus revealed a shift in the hyalinocyte‐granulocyte ratio in infected crabs. There was a highly significant increase in the percentage of granulocytes and a corresponding decrease in hyalinocytes in infected crabs. This shift was thought to be caused by a marked increase in the relative number of eosinophilic gianulocytes. There was also a highly significant statistical relationship between the severity of the internal fungus infection, established by histopathological analysis of the major organ systems, and the increased number of circulating eosinophilic granulocytes. The results of the study indicate that differential haemocyte counts may be a valuable tool in monitoring the health of C. bairdi populations.