Replicon Particle Vaccine for White Spot Syndrome Virus in Marine Shrimp

WSSV is the most serious disease in farmed marine shrimp causing considerable financial losses throughout the last decade across the globe. It infects a wide variety of crustacean hosts including numerous species of wild and cultured marine shrimp, crayfish, and prawns. Although a multitude of vaccination strategies have been attempted with mixed results, no viable commercial product exists on the market. Our preliminary data demonstrate that Alphavirus replicon particles (RP) and a Sindbis (SIN) virus vector infect and express green fluorescent protein in shrimp following injection. Evidence also exists in other invertebrates that oral exposure through immersion has been a successful challenge model with other Alphaviruses. It is proposed that utilizing alphaviruses or alphavirus replicon particles would provide an effective platform for gene expression for mass WSSV vaccination of farmed shrimp.