Prohibitin interaction with the glycoprotein of Micropterus salmoides rhabdovirus mediates viral infection

Micropterus salmoides rhabdovirus (MSRV), a highly lethal and contagious pathogen, has inflicted substantial economic losses on the largemouth bass ( Micropterus salmoides ) aquaculture industry. In this study, a novel MSRV strain, designated MSRV-MS01, was isolated from diseased juvenile largemouth bass collected from Sichuan Province, China. To explore host-virus interactions, we focused on the viral glycoprotein (G), a major envelope protein involved in virus-host interactions, and performed protein–protein interaction screening to identify host-associated proteins. Prohibitin (PHB) was identified as a host interacting protein of MSRV-G protein. Functional analyses, including PHB overexpression and antibody-blocking assays, further suggested that PHB is involved in MSRV infection and may modulate viral replication. Collectively, these findings expand the current understanding of MSRV-host interactions and provide new insights into host factors associated with rhabdovirus infection.