White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) infectivity for Artemia at different developmental stages

White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) is a major pathogen of cultivated shrimp, but its host range includes a large number of crustaceans. In this investigation, Artemia franciscana was tested for susceptibility to WSSV by the oral route. Both instars and adults were challenged, and the presence of WSSV was followed through to reproductive cysts and offspring using PCR. WSSV caused a much lower cumulative mortality in Artemia than in cultivated shrimp by 10 d post-challenge. Instars, adults and reproductive cysts were PCR positive. However, the virus was undetectable by PCR in nauplii that had hatched from PCR-positive reproductive cysts. The data indicate that WSSV or WSSV genomic DNA can be vertically transmitted from WSSV-PCR-positive instars to reproductive cysts, but this DNA is removed during hatching.