Shrimp white spot syndrome: From pathology to pathogenomics

For shrimp with low-level white spot syndrome virus (WSSV, = PRDV) infection, environmental or physiological stresses can trigger replication of the virus and lead to a full blown outbreak of white spot disease. This review will describe how pathogenomic studies have revealed some of the mechanisms that underlie this aspect of WSSV pathology. In the model that emerges, stressors activate shrimp STAT (signal transducer and activator of transcription), which is then annexed by the virus and used to activate the promoter of the immediate early gene WSSV ie1. This in turn leads to rapid replication of the virus.