The m6A writers PmMETTL3 and PmWTAP boost antiviral innate immunity by regulating the JAK/STAT pathway and antimicrobial peptides production in the black tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon infected with white spot syndrome virus.

White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) is one of the most devastating pathogens in shrimp aquaculture. To date, the roles of epi-transcriptomic regulation, especially N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA methylation, in the processes of WSSV infection and shrimp immune defense remain to be elucidated. Here, two essential m6A writers, PmMETTL3 and PmWTAP, were identified from the black tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon. PmMETTL3 and PmWTAP were closely related to homologues from crustaceans, and showed ubiquitous expression in various tissues. Notably, in WSSV infected shrimp, RNA interference of PmMETTL3 or PmWTAP led to significant increases in the virus copy number and shrimp mortality rate (P < 0.05). Histological observation revealed that the hepatopancreas of shrimp in the PmMETTL3/PmWTAP knockdown group exhibited more severe damage, and flow cytometry analysis showed that the proportion of apoptotic hemocytes increased significantly in the two groups. Moreover, PmMETTL3 or PmWTAP dsRNA injection brought about significant decreases in the RNA methylation levels of several innate immunity-related genes, and resulted in suppression of antimicrobial peptide genes such as PmALF3, PmCrustin1 and PmVago5 and induction of the JAK/STAT pathway genes such as PmSTAT and PmSOCS2. Further RNA immuno-precipitation and qPCR analysis revealed that PmMETTL3 and PmWTAP can specifically bind to these target gene transcripts in vivo. In conclusion, PmMETTL3 and PmWTAP can negatively modulate the JAK/STAT signaling pathway, restricting viral replication, and positively regulate the expression of antimicrobial peptides and interferon genes, enhancing shrimp innate immunity against WSSV infection.

• Publication year

  2025

• Venue

  International Journal of Biological Macromolecules

• Publication date

  2025-11-27

• Fields of study

  Biology, Medicine, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.149339PMID 41317756
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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