Antiviral defense and innate immune memory in the oyster

• Published in: Viruses
• Main Authors: Green, Timothy J., Speck, Peter
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: Crassostrea; OsHV-1; immune priming; interferon; RNAi; Pacific; Crassostrea gigas; Pacific oyster
• Online Access: https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/b7c8ec8d-7c43-458f-bb54-b1df47c8223d; https://doi.org/10.3390/v10030133; https://research-management.mq.edu.au/ws/files/85399113/85360651.pdf; http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85044294753&partnerID=8YFLogxK

The Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas, is becoming a valuable model for investigating antiviral defense in the Lophotrochozoa superphylum. In the past five years, improvements to laboratory-based experimental infection protocols using Ostreid herpesvirus I (OsHV-1) from naturally infected C. gigas combined with next-generation sequencing techniques has revealed that oysters have a complex antiviral response involving the activation of all major innate immune pathways. Experimental evidence indicates C. gigas utilizes an interferon-like response to limit OsHV-1 replication and spread. Oysters injected with a viral mimic (polyI:C) develop resistance to OsHV-1. Improved survival following polyI:C injection was found later in life (within-generational immune priming) and in the next generation (multi-generational immune priming). These studies indicate that the oyster’s antiviral defense system exhibits a form of innate immune-memory. An important priority is to identify the molecular mechanisms responsible for this phenomenon. This knowledge will motivate the development of practical and cost-effective treatments for improving oyster health in aquaculture.