Transcriptomic and microbiome analyses of copepod Apocyclops royi in response to an AHPND-causing strain of Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

Copepods are small crustaceans that live in microorganism-rich aquatic environments and provide a key supply of live food for fish and shellfish larviculture. To better understand the host-pathogen interaction between the copepod and Vibrio parahaemolyticus causing acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (VP), the comparative transcriptome and microbiome analyses were conducted in copepod Apocyclops royi-TH following VP infection. Transcriptome analysis identified a total of 836 differentially expressed genes, with 275 upregulated and 561 downregulated genes.