Comparative transcriptome analysis reveals three potential antiviral signaling pathways in lymph organ tissue of the red swamp crayfish, Procambarus clarkii.

The red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) is one of the most economically important farmed aquatic species in China. Compared with its relatively well-known antibacterial and antifungal mechanisms, the antiviral mechanism is still unclear. We used Illumina-based RNA sequencing and bioinformatic technology to obtain high-quality sequence reads from the crayfish lymph organ. A total of 5933 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between normal and white spot syndrome virus-challenged samples. Of these, 4638 genes were differentially upregulated and 1295 differentially downregulated by more than two-fold. The DEGs were then mapped to different signaling pathways; the Janus kinase/signal transducers and activators of transcription, insulin, and Wnt signaling pathways were predicted to be involved in crayfish antiviral innate immunity. These results provide new insights into crayfish antiviral immunity mechanisms.