Temporal changes in transcriptome profile provide insights of White Spot Syndrome Virus infection in Litopenaeus vannamei

Abstract

Shrimp aquaculture is severely affected by WSSV. Despite an increasing effort to understand host/virus interaction by characterizing changes in gene expression (GE) following WSSV infection, the majority of published studies have focussed on a single time-point, providing limited insight on the development of host-pathogen interaction over the infection cycle. Using RNA-seq, we contrasted GE in gills of Litopenaeus vannamei at 1.5, 18 and 56 hours-post-infection (hpi), between WSSV-challenged and control shrimps. Time course analysis revealed 5097 differentially expressed genes: 63 DEGs were viral genes and their expression in WSSV group either peaked at 18 hpi (and decreased at 56 hpi) or increased linearly up to 56 hpi, suggesting a different role played by these genes during the course of infection. The remaining DEGs showed that WSSV altered the expression of metabolic, immune, apoptotic and cytoskeletal genes and was able to inhibit NF-κB and JAK/STAT pathways. Interestingly, GE changes were not consistent through the course of infection but were dynamic with time, suggesting the complexity of host-pathogen interaction. These data offer novel insights into the cellular functions that are affected during the course of infection and ultimately provide a valuable resource towards our understanding of the host-pathogen dynamics and its variation with time.

Shedding the Light on Litopenaeus vannamei Differential Muscle and Hepatopancreas Immune Responses in White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) Exposure

“…Another noteworthy difference in our work was the contagion method used. Contrasting with some of the most recent L. vannamei transcriptome studies involving WSSV infection [5,32], here we used SPF shrimps naturally exposed to the WSSV under standard husbandry conditions in land tanks in a Brazilian shrimp farm with high incidence of the virus. Such contagion strategy was adopted in order to promote exactly the same contagion conditions observed in aquaculture farms.…”

“…Despite this penaeid being one of the most commercialized shrimps in the world, the high incidence of pathogens in aquaculture, and also in nature, is a constant concern to growth and survival of this species. Pathogens, such as White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) [4,5], Taura Syndrome Virus (TSV) [6,7], and Yellow Head Virus (YHV) [8], spread quickly in the aquatic environment and even more frequently in captivity.…”

“…Transcriptomics is a powerful approach for the identification of genes and proteins related to the immune metabolism in shrimp [4,24]. In a recent RNA-seq study performed in L. vannamei gills, shrimps were injected with WSSV and differentially expressed gene analyses were performed in control and infected animals at different post-infection periods, showing that the expression patterns of genes related to the immune system were altered throughout the infection period [5].…”

The Complete Genome of an Endogenous Nimavirus (Nimav-1_LVa) From the Pacific Whiteleg Shrimp Penaeus (Litopenaeus) Vannamei

“…Compared with WSSV, one prominent feature of Nimav-1_LVa is that it encodes more than a dozen genes involved in the critical processes in pathogen-host interactions, such as immune responses and/or apoptosis inhibition [86]. These genes/families include g103 (Hsp70), g118 (DnaJ, also called Hsp40), g132 (ubiquitin), g046 (CHH), g155 (innexin), g158 (BAX inhibitor 1 like), g227 (semaphorin 1A like), g171 (anti-apoptotic protein), and the six IAPs from the PF2 gene family.…”

Molecular insights into the mechanisms of susceptibility of Labeo rohita against oomycete Aphanomyces invadans

“…During development of an infection, pathogens try to invade host by manipulating cellular pathways for their own survival and replication, whereas, host cells respond to the invading pathogen by altering gene expression in favor of defense mechanisms 14 . Since the interaction between host and pathogen is dynamic and varies during the course of infection, therefore, it is essential to characterize the temporal changes in gene expression 15,16 . RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) followed by de novo transcriptome assembly enables large-scale analysis of transcriptomes to analyze gene expression 17 .…”