Advances in anti-WSSV immune mechanisms of penaeid shrimp: decoding “Host–Pathogen Interactions for WSSD Resilience"

Abstract Shrimps are involved in diverse inherent defense reactions involving humoral and cellular immunity to recognize and eliminate viral invaders. Outbreaks provoked by the white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) have caused lethal devastation to penaeid shrimp aquaculture, with notable economic losses worldwide in the last 15 years. Despite intensive studies on WSSV characterization and infection mechanisms, information regarding WSSV-shrimp interactions must be explored to maintain the balance between immune-mediated protection and pathogenesis during viral infection. In-depth studies on cellular and humoral-mediated immune responses against WSSV have also been reported to assist in designing effective control strategies for WSSV, owing to their extensive emergence in large-scale shrimp production profits. This review discusses recent findings on the interaction of WSSV proteins recognized by shrimp receptors regulated by innate signaling immunological pathways, providing more ideas for effective prevention of viral infection. In addition, the molecular modifications exploited by WSSV evade shrimp immune responses for survival and replication. Additionally, summarizing viral reprogramming of host metabolic pathways provides basic knowledge for discovering new approaches to intensify the immune resistance of cultured shrimp against WSSV infections.