A research group led by Professor Ikuo Hirono (Department of Marine Life Sciences) has, in collaboration with researchers from National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan, Chulalongkorn University in Thailand, and the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, determined the scientific name of the White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV), the virus that causes white spot disease in farmed shrimp, which has been rampant worldwide since around 1980.Whispovirus xiabaidianThis was proposed and approved by the International Association for Taxonomy of Viruses in February 2026.
　Furthermore, while previous research had suggested this virus was unique and lacked closely related species, Associate Professor Satoshi Kawato (Institute of Aquatic Organism Production Engineering) discovered during his doctoral studies that it was the causative agent of a viral disease in snow crabs.Chionoecetes opilio bacilliform virusWe decoded its genome (in collaboration with Mie University) and revealed that it is closely related to WSSV. The scientific name of this virusWhispovirus lacteolymphaeTheIt was proposed and approved by the International Association for Taxonomy of Viruses (ISSV) as a close relative of WSSV in 2025.

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