Failure of the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Method to Detect Striped Jack Nervous Necrosis Virus (SJNNV) in Striped Jack Pseudocaranx dentex Selected as Spawners

Abstract

The causative agent of viral nervous necrosis (VNN) in striped jack Pseudocaranx dentex is transmitted from female and male spawners to larvae, and elimination of carrier spawners, determined by the detection of striped jack nervous necrosis virus (SJNNV) via polymerase chain reaction (PCR), has been used to prevent transmission of the disease in larval production facilities. However, some outbreaks of VNN occurred in larvae obtained from SJNNV-negative spawners. We compared the occurrence of infection between groups of larvae obtained from SJNNV-negative spawners and those from SJNNV-positive spawners. Viral nervous necrosis occurred in all seven groups of larvae obtained from the virus-positive spawners between the 3rd and 7th day of rearing. The virus was detected only occasionally after 2 weeks in four of six groups obtained from the virus-negative spawners. These results confirmed vertical transmission of the virus and revealed that a very small amount of SJNNV in spawners escaped PCR detection and could produce infection, although the frequency of infection occurring in the SJNNV-negative group was much lower than that among the larvae from SJNNV-positive spawners.