Growth enhancement of shrimp (Litopenaeus schmitti) after transfer of tilapia growth hormone gene.

Electroporation of Litopenaeus schmitti embryos was used to transfer the pE300tiGH15 plasmid that contains the tilapia growth hormone gene (tiGH) complexed with a nuclear localization signal peptide into the zygotes. The gene construct was detected in 35 (36%) of the 98 larvae screened by PCR and Southern blot analyses. Western blot analyses revealed that 34% of the screened larvae expressed a single tiGH-specific band with the expected molecular mass (23.1 kDa). The development index and larval length indicated a significant growth enhancement from day 3 on after electroporation, with an average of 32% of the growth enhancement. To our knowledge, this is the first report on gene transfer enhanced growth in crustaceans.