Charoonnart, Patai;
Taunt, Henry Nicolas;
Yang, Luyao;
Webb, Conner;
Robinson, Colin;
Saksmerprome, Vanvimon;
Purton, Saul;
(2023)
Transgenic Microalgae Expressing Double-Stranded RNA as Potential Feed Supplements for Controlling White Spot Syndrome in Shrimp Aquaculture.
Microorganisms
, 11
(8)
, Article 1893. 10.3390/microorganisms11081893.
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Abstract
Viral infection of farmed fish and shellfish represents a major issue within the aquaculture industry. One potential control strategy involves RNA interference of viral gene expression through the oral delivery of specific double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). In previous work, we have shown that recombinant dsRNA can be produced in the chloroplast of the edible microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and used to control disease in shrimp. Here, we report a significant improvement in antiviral dsRNA production and its use to protect shrimp against white spot syndrome virus (WSSV). A new strategy for dsRNA synthesis was developed that uses two convergent copies of the endogenous rrnS promoter to drive high-level transcription of both strands of the WSSV gene element in the chloroplast. Quantitative RT-PCR indicated that ~119 ng dsRNA was produced per liter of culture of the transgenic microalga. This represents an ~10-fold increase in dsRNA relative to our previous report. The engineered alga was assessed for its ability to prevent WSSV infection when fed to shrimp larvae prior to a challenge with the virus. The survival of shrimp given feed supplemented with dried alga containing the dsRNA was significantly enhanced (~69% survival) relative to a negative control (<10% survival). The findings suggest that this new dsRNA production platform could be employed as a low-cost, low-tech control method for aquaculture.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Transgenic Microalgae Expressing Double-Stranded RNA as Potential Feed Supplements for Controlling White Spot Syndrome in Shrimp Aquaculture |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.3390/microorganisms11081893 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11081893 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
| Keywords: | Chlamydomonas reinhardtii; chloroplast engineering; double-stranded RNA; RNA interference; shrimp aquaculture; white spot syndrome virus |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences > Structural and Molecular Biology |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10174787 |
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