Glycogen phosphorylase of shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei): Structure, expression and anti-WSSV function

Glycogen phosphorylase (GP, EC 2.4.1.1) catalyze the rate-limiting step in glycogenolysis in animals, forming glucose-1-phosphate from the terminal alpha-1,4-glycosidic bond. Therefore, GP plays a crucial role in carbohydrate metabolism. In the present study, the full-length cDNA sequence of GP (LvGP) was cloned from shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei. The obtained 3242-bp LvGP cDNA sequence included a 5'-terminal untranslated region (UTR) of 48 bp, an open reading frame (ORF) of 2559 bp encoding a polypeptide of 852 amino acids (aa) and a 3'-UTR of 635 bp. The predicted LvGP protein sequence contained a typical phosphorylase domain (113-829 aa) and shared 72%-97% identities with GP from other species. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that LvGP showed the closest relationship with GP from Marsupenaeus japonicus. Tissue expression profiles showed that LvGP existed in most examined tissues, with the most predominant expression in the brain, followed by the muscles and stomach. LvGP transcripts in hepatopancreas and hemocytes were up regulated after the WSSV challenge. Furthermore, the role of LvGP in shrimp defending against WSSV infection was investigated by RNA interference (RNAi). Our findings showed that WSSV proliferation and shrimp accumulative mortality increased significantly after LvGP RNAi (P < 0.01). The glycogen, glucose, and pyruvate content decreased in GP RNAi shrimp after WSSV injection, however, the lactate and ATP concentration enhanced. Moreover, lectin and anti-lipopolysaccharide factor2 (ALF2) were induced in LvGP silencing shrimp after WSSV infection, whereas the expression levels of crustin, ALF1 and ALF3 decreased. Our results suggested that the LvGP might play a crucial role in shrimp defending against WSSV infection by regulating metabolism and affecting the anti-infectious gene expression.