| The Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas, is extensively cultivated and represents an important economic activity. Oysters are reared in estuarine areas, subjected to various biotic and abiotic factors. One of the limiting factors in aquaculture is mortality outbreaks, which may limit oyster production, and the causes of these outbreaks are not completely understood. In this context, the effects of temperature and salinity on Pacific oyster, C. gigas, haemocytes, were studied. Haemocytes are the invertebrate blood cells and thus have been shown to be involved in defence mechanisms. Flow cytometry was used for monitoring several haemocyte parameters. An increase of temperature induced an increase of haemocyte mortality, in both in vitro and in vivo... |
