Antiviral immunity and protection in penaeid shrimp

Abstract

The global aquaculture of penaeid shrimp has recently undergone a huge expansion resulting in production near parity with quantities trawled from the wild. Despite this apparent success, the industry has been hindered by diseases, predominantly from virus infection, which result in losses that have been estimated at 40% of the global production capacity. An increased research focus on penaeid immune response to virus infection has ensued, with an emphasis on harnessing the immune system to protect cultured shrimp from virus infection. Here we review the current knowledge of the factors implicated in the penaeid shrimp immune response to viral infection and strategies based on these discoveries that have been examined as potential avenues for disease control. Immune priming has been observed in response to challenge with White spot syndrome virus following prior exposure to virus or viral components. We review the protection achieved following immune priming with these components, the specificity and duration as well as the generality of the response and discuss potential mechanisms that may facilitate immune priming. In addition we highlight challenges associated with future research directions.