Baculovirus of Metapenaeus bennettae from the Moreton Bay region of Australia

Abstract

Adult Metapenaeus bennettae shrimp, trawled from Moreton Bay, Australia, were found infected with a baculovirus which resembled Monodon Baculovirus (MBV) in its ultrastructure and histological appearance. It differed in that infected material gave negative results with an in situ hybridization test using a DNA probe for MBV, and Penaeus monodon postlarvae, experimentally exposed to the virus, failed to become infected. This new baculovirus, designate MbSNPV or Bennettae Baculovirus (BBV), is the first virus reported from a Metapenaeus spp. taken from the wild.