Functional Genomic Approach to Signal Transduction and Innate Immunity in Shrimp

本研究旨在了解凡纳滨对虾对病毒感染的免疫反应。 甲壳动物是海洋环境的基本组成部分，海洋虾具有商业意义，特别是因为这些动物被广泛养殖。 这些动物极易感染多种病毒，包括桃拉综合症病毒和白色斑点综合症病毒，这些病毒对水产养殖产生破坏性影响，并可能对海洋环境的健康造成未知后果。 本研究提出了2种虾分子（STAT和IkK，它们是免疫功能蛋白家族）是虾识别和响应病毒感染的分子机制的组成部分的假设。有两个具体目标。1)通过RNA干扰方法降低STAT和IkK的表达，并确定这种降低的表达对对虾抗病毒感染的影响。2)目的：鉴定STAT和IkK调控的在病毒免疫中起重要作用的基因。 将采用“功能基因组学”方法，使用DNA微阵列同时测量大约3,000个虾基因的表达水平。 生物信息学分析的结果数据将确定参与宿主对病毒感染的反应的基因，STAT和IkK的作用，这项研究将增加我们对海洋无脊椎动物免疫的理解，并有助于海洋生态系统和水产养殖资源的管理。这项工作的广泛影响包括：1）通过与南卡罗来纳州自然资源部协调，向专业人员和公众传播关于海洋生物和海洋环境的信息; 2）教育和培训将从事该项目的研究生。 此外，通过参加夏季研究接触计划，本科生将有机会从事这个项目，并获得研究经验。

This research is focused on understanding the immune response of a crustacean, the marine shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei to virus infections. Crustacea are essential components of the marine environment and marine shrimp are of commercial significance, especially since these animals are widely aquacultured. These animals are highly susceptible to numerous viruses, including the Taura Syndrome Virus and White Spot Syndrome Virus, and these have devastating impacts on aquaculture and possible unknown consequences for the health of the marine environment. This research addresses the hypothesis that 2 shrimp molecules (STAT and IkK, which are families of immune function proteins) are components of the molecular machinery by which shrimp recognize and respond to viral infection. There are two Specific Aims. 1) To reduce, by RNA interference methods, the expression of STAT and IkK, and establish the effect of this reduced expression on shrimp resistance to viral infection. 2) To identify the genes regulated by STAT and IkK that are important in viral immunity. "Functional genomics" approaches will be employed, using DNA microarrays to measure the levels of expression of approximately 3,000 shrimp genes simultaneously. Bioinformatic analyses of the resulting data will identify genes participating in the host response to viral infection, and the role of STAT and IkK.This research will increase our understanding of marine invertebrate immunity, and assist in the management of marine ecosystems and aquaculture resources. The broader impacts of this work include: 1) the dissemination of information on marine organisms and the marine environment to professionals and the public, through coordination with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and 2) the education and training of graduate students who will work on the project. In addition, through participation in summer research exposure programs, undergraduate students will have the opportunity to work on this project and to gain experience in research.