Discovery of Signature Metabolites as Potential Biomarkers for Anguillid Herpesvirus 1 (AngHV-1) During Outbreak in Anguilla bicolor Glass Eel.

This study evaluated the metabolites of Anguilla bicolor during an outbreak of Anguilid Herpevirus 1 (AngHV-1) disease. Two experimental groups, infected glass eels (P) and healthy glass eels (N), were established, with three biological replicates per group, each replicate comprising pooled samples from 10 glass eels (0.15 ± 0.03 g). Metabolomic analysis identified 212 compounds in the glass eel, including L-palmitin, PC (18:1/0:0), choline, cinnamic acid, PC (16:1/0:0), creatine, monoolein, hypoxanthine, L-histidine, oleostearic, L-carnitine, linoleoyl, urocanic acid, arachidonic acid and taurocholic acid, which exhibited the 15 highest VIP scores. The infection with AngHV-1 affected key pathways, including histidine metabolism, beta-alanine metabolism, arginine biosynthesis and nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism. Biomarker analysis revealed the downregulation of L-phenylalanine, Stearidonic acid, 2-Arachidonoyl glycerol, Acetyl-L-carnitine, carotenal and γ-Guanidiobutyrate (p < 0.01). These findings suggest that six signature metabolites are potential biomarkers associated with AngHV-1 infection in A. bicolor glass eels.