The miR-1000-p53 pathway regulates apoptosis and virus infection in shrimp

• The shrimp p53 protein could regulate the apoptotic activity of shrimp hemocytes.
• p53 played an important role in white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) infection in shrimp.
• miR-1000 regulated apoptotic activity and WSSV infection in shrimp by targeting p53.

The p53 protein plays an important role in apoptosis which is involved in the immunity of animals. However, effects of the miRNA-mediated regulation of p53 expression on apoptosis and virus infection are not extensively investigated. To address this issue, the miRNA-mediated p53-dependent apoptotic pathway was explored in this study. The results indicated that p53 could regulate the apoptotic activity of Marsupenaeus japonicas shrimp and influence the infection of white spot syndrome virus (WSSV). The further data presented that miR-1000 could target the 3′-untranslated region (3′UTR) of p53 gene. The results of in vivo experiments showed that the miR-1000 overexpression led to significant decreases of shrimp apoptotic activity and the capacity of WSSV infection, while the miR-1000 silencing resulted in significant increases of apoptotic activity and virus infection, indicating that miR-1000 took great effects on apoptosis and virus infection by targeting p53. Therefore, our study revealed a novel mechanism that the miR-1000-p53 pathway regulated apoptosis and virus infection in shrimp.