The giant river prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii, is a major focus of aquaculture in tropical and sub-tropical regions around the globe. Over the last 30 years, culture of M. rosenbergii has increased exponentially as demand has risen both for domestic consumption and for international export trade. As with many aquaculture species increases in production have been accompanied by the emergence of diseases affecting yield, profit and trading potential. Disease-causing agents include pathogens infecting other crustaceans, such as Decapod Iridescent Virus (DIV1), as well as pathogens only known from M. rosenbergii such as White Tail Disease caused by Macrobrachium rosenbergii nodavirus (MrNV) and extra small virus (XSV). Here, we review the pathogenic agents associated with the culture of M. rosenbergii since commercial culture began in earnest during the 1970s. Particular emphasis is given to pathogens first identified in other aquaculture host species, but which have subsequently been shown to infect and cause disease in M. rosenbergii. As polyculture of M. rosenbergii with other aquaculture species is common practice, including culture with other decapods, crabs and fish, increased pathogen transfer among these farmed species may occur as M. rosenbergii aquaculture increases in the future.aquaculture, emerging disease, giant river prawn, polyculture
| INTRODUCTIONAquaculture is the fastest-growing farmed food sector, with the proportion of cultured to caught seafood increasing year-on-year. 1,2 Global aquaculture production for fish, crustaceans and molluscs surpassed 87 million tonnes in 2020, just under half of all world production. 2 Crustacean production by aquaculture far surpasses that by capture, with more than 11,000,000 tonnes in 2020 from aquaculture compared to 6,000,000 tonnes by capture. 2 Despite these considerable production figures, it is estimated that up to 40% of tropical shrimp aquaculture production is lost annually, 3 equating to losses of over 3 billion USD, and this is primarily due to infection with viral agents. 4 Losses on this scale threaten global food security, with most of the consumption of cultured crustaceans being outside of producing countries, making management and mitigation of disease of key importance to the future success of crustacean aquaculture. 4 Stentiford et al. (2012) outlines a holistic strategy involving both producer and consumer nations to improve husbandry and farm management, better understand pathogens and their spread (either by movement of animals or alternative hosts) and learn lessons from previous disease outbreaks. This review focuses on these points to outline the pathogenic agents in Macrobrachium rosenbergii culture, identify other hosts