Isolation and expression profile of a gene encoding for the Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription STAT2 in Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar)

Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription (STAT)-2 is a molecule involved in the type I interferon (IFN) signalling pathway. The full length cDNA sequence of Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar) ssSTAT2 was determined and phylogenetic analysis of the amino acid sequence grouped this novel salmon gene to the STAT2 clade. This represents the first fish STAT2 report. The gene encodes for a 802 aa polypeptide that has 38% identity to the human or murine STAT2. The expression was monitored by qPCR in the kidney of animals over the time of infection with the Infectious Salmon Anaemia Virus (ISAV) and in TO cells infected with Infectious Pancreatic Necrosis Virus (IPNV) or with the Salmon Alphavirus (SAV). SAV and ISAV induced an approximate 10-fold increase in the level of expression of ssSTAT2 gene whilst IPNV only induced a 1.5-fold increase.