Transcriptome Analysis Provides New Insights into Host Response to Hepatopancreatic Necrosis Disease in the Black Tiger Shrimp Penaeus monodon

The hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (HPND) is a common shrimp disease. Aquaculture of the black tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon has suffered with the frequent outbreak of HPND. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of host response to HPND is of pivotal importance for improving its farming performance. In this study, the RNA-Seq platform was utilized to investigate transcriptomic changes of the hepatopancreas in pond-cultured P. monodon with HPND symptoms. A total of 62071 genes with an average length of 953 bp were obtained, and a lot of simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci related to these genes were identified. Totally, 5204 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected between healthy shrimp and HPND shrimp, with 3399 genes up-regulated and 1,805 genes down-regulated. These genes had a wide range of biological functions, and several well-known immune-related genes including integrin alpha 5, integrin beta 1, C type lectin and catalase were among the DEGs. Cell signaling pathways including the extracellular matrix (ECM) receptor interaction, phagosome and lysosome pathways were significantly upregulated in HPND-infected shrimps, indicating their involvement in the immune responses of shrimp against HPND. The data obtained in this study offers new insights into the molecular mechanisms of shrimp host response to HPND disease, and provides a resource for molecular marker development and genetic breeding studies of P. monodon.