Ribosome, as basic components of the protein synthesis machinery, plays an important role in normal cellular physiology, cellular responses and pathogenesis. Ribosome consists of a large subunit (60S) and a small subunit (40S). In Litopenaeus vannamei (L. vannamei), the function of the 60S ribosome protein L4A-Like (LvRPL4A-L) and the 40S ribosome protein S16 (LvRPS16) in white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) infection was unclear. In the present study, the tissue distribution assay showed that LvRPL4-L and LvRPS16 were expressed in all selected tissues. The expressions of LvRPL4-L and LvRPS16 at the mRNA level were mainly distributed in the muscle, stomach, and hepatopancreas. Besides, the relative expressions of LvRPL4-L and LvRPS16 were up-regulated in the hepatopancreas and stomach of WSSV-challenged shrimp. In addition, after LvRPL4-L or LvRPS16 silencing and WSSV infection, the relative expressions of immediate early gene IE1 and late gene VP28 were significantly up-regulated. Meanwhile, compared with the control group, the viral copy number and cumulative mortality rate of the LvRPL4-L- or LvRPS16-silenced group were also significantly increased. We, for the first time, reported the function of LvRPL4-L and LvRPS16 in the antiviral immune response of L. vannamei.

核糖体作为蛋白质合成机制的基本组成部分，在正常细胞生理、细胞反应和发病机制中起着重要作用。核糖体由一个大亚基（60S）和一个小亚基（40S）组成。在南美白对虾（L. vannamei）中，60S核糖体蛋白L4A-Like（LvRPL4A-L）和40S核糖体蛋白S16（LvRPS16）在白斑综合征病毒（WSSV）感染中的作用尚不清楚。在本研究中，组织分布测定表明LvRPL4-L和LvRPS16在所有选定的组织中均有表达。LvRPL4-L和LvRPS16的表达mRNA水平主要分布于肌肉、胃和肝胰腺。此外，LvRPL4-L和LvRPS16在WSSV攻击虾的肝胰腺和胃中的相对表达上调。此外，在LvRPL4-L或LvRPS16沉默和WSSV感染后，即刻早期基因IE1和晚期基因VP28的相对表达显着上调。同时，与对照组相比，LvRPL4-L-或LvRPS16-沉默组的病毒拷贝数和累积死亡率也显着增加。我们第一次报道了LvRPL4-L和LvRPS16在南美白对虾抗病毒免疫反应中的作用。