Mercenaria mercenaria-QPX: Immunological Characterization of the Host-Pathogen Interface
Quahog clams (Mercenaria mercenaria) are harvested commercially in waters from Canada to Virginia; they are also spawned in hatcheries for farming on privately-held or leased grounds. Recently, hard clam aquaculture enterprises have gotten underway in Maryland's coastal bays. Over the last several years, hatchery-reared clams in the northeast have suffered from a problematic disease, referred to as Quahog Parasite Unknown (QPX), with mortalities of up to 80 percent on some lease sites. Though QPX has not been detected in the mid-Atlantic, concern is high that its appearance is just a matter of time. It is nearly impossible to develop management strategies to protect M. mercenaria since neither the environmental factors that may promote QPX disease are known nor the way the clam's immune system reacts in defending itself. In this project Robert Anderson and Sharon McGladdery will carry out the first systematic study of the quahog's defense mechanisms. Working at the level of the cell, their aim is to discover factors that enable the parasite to proliferate so extensively in clam tissue. While this knowledge should provide key insights into how aquaculturists can better manage around QPX, it could also enhance selective breeding and disease resistance protocols to improve control measures.
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Robert S. Anderson
Chesapeake Biological Laboratory
University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
Sharon E. McGladdery
Gulf Fisheries Centre
Department of Fisheries and Oceans
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