Ostreid herpesvirus type 1 replication and host response in adult Pacific oysters, Crassostrea gigas

Since 2008, massive mortality outbreaks associated with OsHV-1 detection have been reported in Crassostrea gigas spat and juveniles in several countries. Nevertheless, adult oysters do not demonstrate mortality in the field related to OsHV-1 detection and were thus assumed to be more resistant to viral infection. Determining how virus and adult oyster interact is a major goal in understanding why mortality events are not reported among adult Pacific oysters. Dual transcriptomics of virus-host interactions were explored by real-time PCR in adult oysters after a virus injection. Thirty-nine viral genes and five host genes including MyD88, IFI44, IkB2, IAP and Gly were measured at 0.5, 10, 26, 72 and 144 hours post infection (hpi). No viral RNA among the 39 genes was detected at 144 hpi suggesting the adult oysters are able to inhibit viral replication. Moreover, the IAP gene (oyster gene) shows significant up-regulation in infected adults compared to control adults. This result suggests that over-expression of IAP could be a reaction to OsHV-1 infection, which may induce the apoptotic process. Apoptosis could be a main mechanism involved in disease resistance in adults. Antiviral activity of haemolymph against herpes simplex virus (HSV-1) was not significantly different between infected adults versus control.