The whole genome sequencing of L. vannamei is now in progress but the information is not yet publically available. Rather, to date the information on the shrimp genome has largely been obtained from the analysis of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) sequences.
This has led to several tissuespecific transcripts being identified as well as candidate genes that may be implicated in the shrimp immune responses (Table 1).
Nevertheless, the function of these immune genes and proteins are poorly understood and almost all require further studies to unveil their function in the shrimp immune system.