Toll receptor in prawn and its application in nutrition-immunity assessing on prawn

Toll receptor is a kind of transmembrane protein. The extracellular domain of Toll receptor can recognize the highly conserved components of pathogens, termed pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), which is only expressed on pathogen microbe. The signal on pathogen invasion is transmitted into cell by Toll receptor and then induce cascades on production of immune effectors and immune reactions. Toll receptor is vital for innate immunity of organism. The existence of Toll receptor has been verified in some kinds of shrimp. But the application of Toll receptor in nutrition-immunity study of shrimp is scarce. This paper reviews the signal pathway of Toll and research advance on prawn Toll. The application of Toll receptor in nutrition-immunity assessing on prawn is also elucidated. The variation on expression of Toll receptor gene may reflect the sensitivity of organism to invading pathogen. Expression of Toll receptor gene should be a valuable parameter for assaying nutrition-immunity of shrimp. However, more research should be conducted in future to interpret the effects of dietary nutrients on expression of Toll receptor gene. Whether expression of Toll receptor gene of shrimp could reflect the immunological function of the diet should also be studied.