Abstract
The Chinese giant salamander, belonging to an ancient amphibian lineage, is the largest amphibian existing in the world, and is also an important animal for artificial cultivation in China. However, some aspects of the innate and adaptive immune system of the Chinese giant salamander are still unknown. The Chinese giant salamander iridovirus (GSIV), a member of the Ranavirus genus (family Iridoviridae), is a prominent pathogen causing high mortality and severe economic losses in Chinese giant salamander aquaculture. As a serious threat to amphibians worldwide, the etiology of ranaviruses has been mainly studied in model organisms, such as the Ambystoma tigrinum and Xenopus. Nevertheless, the immunity to ranavirus in Chinese giant salamander is distinct from other amphibians and less known. We review the unique immune system and antiviral responses of the Chinese giant salamander, in order to establish effective management of virus disease in Chinese giant salamander artificial cultivation.
Highlights
The Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus) is the largest and the most primitive urodele amphibian alive worldwide
In contrast with earlier studies implying a weak or even deficient immunity in salamanders, recent genomic and transcriptomic studies indicate that all the critical genetic elements of the innate and adaptive immune system are present in salamanders, suggesting that salamanders are not inherently immune defective
To advance both fundamental and applied immunology of salamanders and especially the giant salamander, it is important in our view, to integrate new genomic and transcriptomic technology with functional studies in the context of current infectious diseases caused by ranaviruses
Summary
The Chinese giant salamander, belonging to an ancient amphibian lineage, is the largest amphibian existing in the world, and is an important animal for artificial cultivation in China. Some aspects of the innate and adaptive immune system of the Chinese giant salamander are still unknown. The Chinese giant salamander iridovirus (GSIV), a member of the Ranavirus genus (family Iridoviridae), is a prominent pathogen causing high mortality and severe economic losses in Chinese giant salamander aquaculture. The immunity to ranavirus in Chinese giant salamander is distinct from other amphibians and less known. We review the unique immune system and antiviral responses of the Chinese giant salamander, in order to establish effective management of virus disease in Chinese giant salamander artificial cultivation
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