Eastern oyster response to bacteria in larval stages.

Oysters are described as keystone species serving an important ecological role. As filter-feeders they help in maintaining water quality. Oyster reefs provide refuge and support to different organisms. The eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, native to the East Coast of United States and Gulf of Mexico is a part of the rapidly growing aquaculture industry. Aquaculture production depends on a healthy and constant supply of oyster larvae that are provided by hatcheries. Several hatcheries on the east coast that provide C. virginica seed to oyster farms face significant losses owing to Vibrio infections causing massive larval mortalities.Use of these probiotics in hatcheries can reduce mortalities due to disease thereby avoiding significant economic losses. This is the first study to investigate the effect of both pathogen and probiotic bacteria on C. virginica larval immunity using transcriptomes.