Taurine metabolism is modulated in Vibrio-infected Penaeus vannamei to shape shrimp antibacterial response and survival

Abstract

Background Numerous microorganisms are found in aquaculture ponds, including several pathogenic bacteria. Infection of cultured animals by these pathogens results in diseases and metabolic dysregulation. However, changes in the metabolic profiles that occur at different infection stages in the same ponds and how these metabolic changes can be modulated by exogenous metabolites in Penaeus vannamei remain unknown. Results Here, we collected gastrointestinal tract (GIT) samples from healthy, diseased, and moribund P. vannamei in the same aquaculture pond for histological, metabolic, and transcriptome profiling. We found that diseased and moribund shrimp with empty GITs and atrophied hepatopancreas were mainly infected with Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio harveyi. Although significant dysregulation of crucial metabolites and their enzymes were observed in diseased and moribund shrimps, diseased shrimp expressed high levels of taurine and taurine metabolism-related enzymes, while moribund shrimp expressed high levels of hypoxanthine and related metabolism enzymes. Moreover, a strong negative correlation was observed between taurine levels and the relative abundance of V. parahaemolyticus and V. harveyi. Besides, exogenous taurine enhanced shrimp survival against V. parahaemolyticus challenge by increasing the expression of key taurine metabolism enzymes, mainly, cysteine dioxygenase (CDO) and cysteine sulfinic acid decarboxylase (CSD). Conclusions Our study revealed that taurine metabolism could be modulated by exogenous supplementation to improve crustacean immune response against pathogenic microbes.

Las Bolitas Syndrome in Penaeus vannamei Hatcheries in Latin America

“…PCR analyses were conducted for the following pathogens in animal samples: hepanhamaparvovirus (DHPV) [ 16 ]; Macrobrachium bidnavirus (MrBdv) [ 17 ]; decapod iridescent virus 1 (DIV1) [ 18 ]; white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) [ 19 ]; infectious hypodermal and haematopoietic necrosis virus (IHHNV) [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ]; Wenzhou shrimp virus 8 (WzSV8) [ 24 ]; P. vannamei nodavirus [ 25 ]; covert mortality nodavirus (CMNV) [ 26 ]; infectious myonecrosis virus (IMNV) [ 27 ]; yellow head virus (YHV) [ 28 ]; gill-associated virus (GAV) [ 28 ]; Taura syndrome virus (TSV) [ 29 , 30 ]; Macrobrachium nodavirus (MrNV) [ 31 ]; extra small virus (XSV) usually associated with MrNV [ 32 ]; Spiroplasma [ 33 ]; Vibrio spp. ( Vibrio -specific 16S rRNA gene fragment) [ 34 ]; V. parahaemolyticus (collagenase gen) [ 35 ]; V. parahaemolyticus (gen vhvp-1and gen vhvp-2) [ 36 ]; V. parahaemolyticus (gen tdh) [ 37 ]; V. harveyi (gen vhh) [ 37 ]; Rickettsia -like bacteria (RLB) [ 38 ]; necrotizing hepatopancreatitis bacteria (NHP-B) [ 39 ]; Ecytonucleospora ( Enterocytozoon ) hepatopenaei (EHP) [ 40 ]; non-EHP Microsporidia [ 41 ]; acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND) [ 42 ]; and Haplosporidia [ 43 ].…”

“…Additionally, the following pathogens were screened for from isolated bacteria: Vibrio spp. ( Vibrio -specific 16S rRNA gene fragment) [ 34 ]; V. parahaemolyticus (collagenase gen) [ 35 ]; V. parahaemolyticus (gen vhvp-1and gen vhvp-2) [ 36 ]; V. parahaemolyticus (gen tdh) [ 37 ]; V. harveyi (gen vhh) [ 37 ]; and toxR gen [ 44 ].…”

Kruppel homolog 1 modulates ROS production and antimicrobial peptides expression in shrimp hemocytes during infection by the Vibrio parahaemolyticus strain that causes AHPND

“…To identify bacterial ( V. parahaemolyticus (AHPND) ) abundance in the hemolymph samples, RT-qPCR-based methods were used. First, a standard curve was prepared using V. parahaemolyticus (AHPND) strains and gene-specific primers (PirB, Table 1 ) as previously described ( 27 ). Next, RT-qPCR assay was performed using primers specific to the V. parahaemolyticus (AHPND) strain (PirB, Table 1 ) and the DNA extracted above.…”

Effect of Calanus finmarchicus Hydrolysate Inclusion on Diet Attractiveness for Whiteleg Shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei)

“…Plant proteins are generally deficient in taurine, possibly explaining part of their lower attractiveness and palatability [34]. In addition to increased feed intake, supplementation of taurine in diets for juvenile whiteleg shrimp has been found to improve growth performance, metabolism, immunity, anti-oxidant capacity, and intestinal health [35][36][37][38][39]. Metabolomic fingerprinting of C. finmarchicus has also revealed that one of its major metabolites is betaine [40], which is a highly soluble glycine derivative with chemoattractive properties for both fish and shrimp [8][9][10][41][42][43].…”