Immunological Consequences of Triploidy in Penaeus monodon: Evidence from Cellular and Humoral Effectors
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48048/tis.2026.13281Keywords:
Penaeus monodon, Black tiger shrimp, Triploid, Diploid, Cellular responses, Innate immunityAbstract
Triploidization has been applied in aquaculture to enhance growth performance and production stability; however, its implications for immune competence in penaeid shrimp remain poorly understood. This study compared growth performance, hemocyte dynamics, and innate immune responses between diploid (2n) and triploid (3n) Penaeus monodon across 2 independent trials. Triploid shrimp consistently exhibited 30% - 40% greater body weight than diploids, indicating enhanced somatic growth. Despite this advantage, triploid shrimp displayed reduced total hemocyte counts, with a modest decrease of approximately 9% in Trial 1 and a pronounced reduction of 41.49% in Trial 2. These changes were accompanied by marked alterations in hemocyte composition, characterized by lower proportions of hyaline cells and increased proportions of semi-granular and granular hemocytes. Concurrently, hemocyte size increased significantly in triploids across all cell types, with cell areas enlarged by approximately 1.3 - 1.9-fold, indicating compensatory cellular hypertrophy. Collectively, these cellular patterns support immune reorganization rather than proportional numerical scaling following genome duplication. At the functional level, triploid shrimp exhibited altered humoral and enzymatic immune profiles, including phenoloxidase-related activities, consistent with compensatory immune regulation. Molecular analyses further revealed trial- and tissue-dependent modulation of immune-related genes, including ppae1 and crus, suggesting context-dependent transcriptional responses rather than constitutive immune upregulation. Overall, these findings demonstrate that triploid P. monodon maintains immune competence through coordinated cellular and molecular compensation despite reduced hemocyte abundance, highlighting triploidization as a promising strategy to enhance growth performance without compromising innate immunity, thereby supporting its potential application in sustainable shrimp aquaculture.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Triploid shrimp achieved superior body weight without loss of immune competence.
- Reduced hemocyte abundance in triploids was compensated by increased cell size and function.
- Innate immunity in triploids reflects structural and molecular compensation mechanisms.
- Triploidization supports improved growth performance in sustainable shrimp aquaculture.
GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
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