The evolutionarily highly conserved MST2 suppresses WSSV infection by promoting apoptosis in shrimp

Mammalian Ste20-like kinase 2 (MST2) is a core component of the Hippo pathway and plays an important role in regulating cell apoptosis, cell proliferation and cell cycle progression, but it has rarely been studied in invertebrates, especially crustaceans. In this study, the MST2 gene in penaeus japonicus shrimp was characterized. A 2111 bp long nucleotide sequence encoding 690 amino acids was obtained. The molecular weight of MST2 protein is 78.47222 kDa. The bioinformatics analysis indicated that the MST2 protein has an S_TK-c (Ser/Thr kinase) domain and a SARAH (Salvador/Ras-association domain family/Hippo) domain, which is consistent with other species. The analysis of subcellular localization showed that MST2 was mainly present in the cytoplasm. Real time PCR and apoptosis analysis indicated that MST2 was involved in the white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) infection process and inhibited viral infection by promoting apoptosis. This study revealed the potential function of MST2 in virus invasion and cell apoptosis, providing a new target for preventing shrimp virus infection.