Experimental Infection Models and Their Usefulness for White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) Research in Shrimp

Area of Science:

• Aquaculture Pathology
• Infectious Disease Modeling
• Shrimp Virology

Background:

• White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) causes devastating economic losses in global shrimp aquaculture.
• Current understanding of WSSV infection dynamics and host-pathogen interactions remains incomplete.
• Effective mitigation strategies are hampered by incomplete knowledge of WSSV pathogenesis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To critically review essential, often overlooked, aspects of developing standardized in vivo WSSV infection models.
• To guide researchers in selecting appropriate experimental models for WSSV research.
• To facilitate the advancement of WSSV antiviral treatments and control strategies.

Main Methods:

• Examination of critical factors in in vivo WSSV model development.
• Analysis of standardization, larval quality, inoculum characteristics, and housing conditions.
• Discussion of shrimp welfare considerations in experimental settings.

Main Results:

• Identified key overlooked elements in WSSV infection model development.
• Highlighted the necessity of standardized models due to challenges with shrimp cell lines.
• Provided a framework for evaluating the suitability of different experimental models.

Conclusions:

• Standardized in vivo models are essential for advancing WSSV research and aquaculture.
• Careful consideration of model parameters is crucial for reliable and reproducible results.
• This review aids researchers in optimizing WSSV infection models for targeted studies.