Characterization of a γ‐aminobutyrate type A receptor‐associated protein gene,which is involved in the response of Portunus trituberculatus to CO2‐induced ocean acidification

The γ‐aminobutyrate type A receptor‐associated protein (GABARAP) is a ubiquitin‐like modifier implicated in membrane trafficking and fusion events involving the γ‐aminobutyrate type A receptor, autophagy and apoptosis. In this study, the gene encoding GABARAP was cloned from swimming crab Portunus trituberculatus (PtGABARAP) based on the expression sequence tag (EST). The full‐length cDNA of 664 bp includes a 5′ untranslated region (UTR) of 87 bp, a 3′ UTR of 223 bp with a poly(A) tail, and an open reading frame (ORF) of 354 bp encoding a polypeptide of 117 amino acids with a predicted molecular weight of 13.96 kDa. The deduced amino acid sequence shares high similarity (93%–100%) with GABARAPs from other species and includes a conserved Atg8 domain. In a phylogenetic analysis PtGABARAP clustered with GABARAPs from other species, and more widely with other GABARAP family proteins. The impact of elevated ocean acidification (OA) on P. trituberculatus behaviours was investigated, and real‐time RT‐PCR revealed that PtGABARAP expression was up‐regulated after OA exposure. Ocean acidification also caused crabs anxiety‐like behaviours, like the shoal average speed increase, preference for dark environment (scototaxis) and fast exploration. The results indicated that GABARAP might be involved in the interactions of GABA_A receptors and elevated‐CO₂ seawater.     

Effects of dietary macroalgae meal and lipid source on growth performance and body wall fatty acid composition of sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus

A 70‐day experiment was conducted to examine the effects of different macroalgal meals and lipid sources on growth, body wall composition and fatty acid (FA) profile of sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus. Two macroalgal meals including Sargassum muticum (SM) and Gracilaria lemaneiformis (GL) and two lipid sources including fish oil (FO) and vegetable oil (VO) were formulated into four diets, i.e., S. muticum and fish oil (SF), S. muticum and vegetable oil (SV), G. lemaneiformis and fish oil (GF) and G. lemaneiformis and vegetable oil (GV). The results showed that the specific growth rates (SGR) of A. japonicus fed diets containing SM were significantly higher than those fed diets containing GL. No significant differences in SGR between the FO‐based and VO‐based groups were observed. Similar results were observed in the body wall lipid content. Most body wall FAs changed to resemble the dietary FA proportions because of the dietary effect. Concentrations of 20:4n‐6 of the SF and GF groups were significantly lower than the SV and GV groups, while levels of 20:5n‐3 and 22:6n‐3 were significantly higher than the SV and GV groups. The n‐3/n‐6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) ratios of the SF and GF groups were significantly higher than the SV and GV groups. Moreover, the SF group had significantly higher 20:5n‐3 and 22:6n‐3 contents and n‐3/n‐6 PUFAs ratio than the GF group. These findings reveal that the SF diet can show beneficial effects on both growth performance and body wall n‐3 PUFAs content of A. japonicus.     

Response of facilitative glucose transporter 1 to salinity stress and dietary carbohydrate nutrition in white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei

Facilitative glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) is a transporter protein for glucose transport via the plasma membrane of the cells to provide energy through carbohydrate metabolism. GLUT1 cDNA from Litopenaeus vannamei was obtained and analysed in this study. Full‐length GLUT1 cDNA is 2062 bp long and contained a 1506‐bp ORF encoding a 502 amino acid protein, a 270‐bp 5′UTR and a 284‐bp 3′UTR. When shrimp were under acute low salinity stress, the expression in hepatopancreas, muscle, gill and eyestalk was all up‐regulated at 12 h (P < 0.05) and 96 h (P < 0.05), while the expression in the four tissues was all down‐regulated at 6 h (P < 0.05) and 48 h (P < 0.05) . The expression in the muscle of shrimp at water salinity of 3 was lower than that at water salinity of 30 independent of dietary carbohydrate levels, while expression in hepatopancreas, gill and eyestalk was up‐regulated at 200 and 300 g kg^?1 carbohydrate levels. The expression in all tissues fed glucose was up‐regulated when compared to the expression in shrimp held at a water salinity of 30. This study suggests that GLUT1 is a conserved protein in L. vannamei, and changes in expression due to environmental salinity and dietary carbohydrate level and source.     

Molecular cloning,characterization, tissue expression and nutritional regulation of O‐GlcNAc transferase gene in hybrid grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus ♀ × E. lanceolatus ♂)

O‐GlcNAc transferase gene (OGT) was considered as the sole rate‐limiting enzyme in the O‐GlcNAc modification. In the present study, the OGT gene of hybrid grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus ♀ × E. lanceolatus ♂) was cloned and characterized, and its expression in response to dietary carbohydrate level and acute glucose treatment was investigated. The full‐length of OGT (GenBank accession no. KY656469 ) was 4,063 bp, including a 302 bp 5′untranslated terminal region (UTR), a 3,165 bp coding region that encoded 1,054 amino acids residues and a 596 bp 3′ UTR. The highly conservation of OGT gene between fish and mammals was also observed through multiple sequences alignment and phylogenetic analysis. O‐GlcNAc transferase gene was ubiquitously expressed in all detected tissues with highest expressions in brain and liver, to a lesser degree, in eye, heart, kidney and intestine. The increasing dietary carbohydrate from 8.02% to 16.08% had no significant effect on the mRNA expression of OGT. However, the expression of OGT was slightly elevated at 6 hr post‐glucose injection, and the elevation became significant at 24 hr time‐point. These data may enhance our understanding on the nutritional regulation of OGT and O‐GlcNAc modification in fish species.     

仿刺参基质金属蛋白酶基因MMP-16的克隆及表达

基质金属蛋白酶(MMPs)是一种能够降解细胞外基质的蛋白水解酶类。为研究MMPs在仿刺参免疫防御中的作用,本实验采用RACE技术克隆了仿刺参基质金属蛋白酶16基因(Aj-MMP-16)的cDNA全长序列,并对其序列特征和功能进行了初步分析;采用实时荧光定量PCR(qRT-PCR)方法,分别分析了Aj-MMP-16基因在仿刺参不同组织、不同"化皮"体壁组织以及病原菌刺激后体腔细胞中的表达情况。结果显示,Aj-MMP-16基因的cDNA全长为2 976 bp,包括一个342 bp的5′非编码区,一个963 bp的3′非编码区;开放阅读框(ORF)为1 671 bp,编码557个氨基酸,预测蛋白分子量为63.11 ku,等电点为4.79。Aj-MMP-16具有典型的MMPs家族蛋白结构:N-端前肽区、铰链区、催化区、C-端类血红素结合区和跨膜区。Aj-MMP-16与其他物种的MMPs具有一定的相似性,与紫色球海胆的MMP-16相似性最高。Aj-MMP-16基因mRNA在仿刺参各组织中均有表达,表达量由高到低为呼吸树、肠、体腔细胞、管足、肌肉、体壁;在"化皮病"不同阶段,AjMMP-16基因mRNA在"化皮"体壁组织中的表达量显著高于正常体壁组织;灿烂弧菌和蜡样芽孢杆菌刺激后,体腔细胞中Aj-MMP-16基因mRNA表达量显著升高。Aj-MMP-16基因可能在仿刺参内脏再生、炎症发生以及免疫应答中起着重要的作用。     

Molecular characterization,tissue distribution of Follicle‐Stimulating Hormone (FSH) beta subunit and effect of kisspeptin‐10 on reproductive hormonal profile of Catla catla (Hamilton, 1822)

Gonadotropin (GTH) hormones are glycoprotein which stimulates gonadal maturation in vertebrates. Follicle stimulating hormone is involved in initiation of gametogenesis and regulation of gonadal growth. FSHβ has been cloned and characterized from the brain of Catla catla. The FSHβ full‐length of cDNA sequence of 523 bp comprised 3, 394 and 128 bp of 5′‐UTR, open reading frame (ORF) 3′‐UTR respectively. The coding region of C. catla FSHβ encoded a peptide of 130 amino acids. Phylogenetic analysis of C. catla FSHβ deduced amino acid sequence showed high similarity with Gobiocypris rarus followed by goldfish, Carassius auratus. The qPCR result shows that FSHβ mRNA is mainly expressed in pituitary while moderate and low expression was observed in testis and ovary respectively. Chitosan‐nanoconjugated kisspeptin‐10 (CK‐10) of particle size 125 nm, polydispersity index of 0.335 to 0.65 and zeta potential of ?34.95 mV were synthesized and evaluated at against naked kisspeptin‐10 for their reproductive hormonal profile. Treatment of fish with CK‐10 showed controlled and sustained surge of the reproductive hormones (FSH & LH) with peak at 12 h. The hormone levels of naked kisspeptin‐10 treated fish decline after 6 h. The sustained release of this CK‐10 will help in reducing maturation age, synchronization of ovulation and spawning in fish. This is the first report on use of chitosan‐nanoconjugated kisspeptin‐10 (CK‐10) for reproduction in fish.     

Molecular Cloning and Expression Analysis of Transformer‐2 Gene During Development in Macrobrachium nipponense (de Haan 1849)

The transformer‐2 gene (tra‐2) plays a key role in the sexual differentiation regulatory hierarchy. In this study, tra‐2 gene homologs designated as Mntra‐2 was cloned and characterized from Macrobrachium nipponense. The full‐length cDNA of Mntra‐2 consists of 1724 bp with an open reading frame (ORF) encoding 192 amino acids, an 827 bp 5′‐untranslated region (UTR) and a 318 bp 3′‐UTR. The predicated molecular mass of Mntra‐2 was 20.805 kDa with an estimated theoretical isoelectric point of 10.36. The deduced amino acid sequence shares high homology with Penaeus monodon. Real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT‐qPCR) analyses demonstrated that the expression levels of Mntra‐2 varied significantly during different developmental stages of embryogenesis, larvae, and post‐larvae and in various adult tissues. During embryogenesis, the expression level of Mntra‐2 was slightly higher at the cleavage stage than at the blastula stage, and reached the highest level at the nauplius stage. During the larvae, the Mntra‐2 expression gradually increased from 1 d larvae post hatch (L1) to L10 and decreased to a lowest level at the end of metamorphosis. During the post‐larvae, the Mntra‐2 expression was higher level at the 5 d after the metamorphosis (P5). RT‐qPCR showed the Mntra‐2 mRNA was expressed in ovary, testis, muscle, heart, abdominal ganglion, brain, and intestine with the highest level of expression in muscle and intestine. The results indicate that Mntra‐2 is an arthropods tra‐2 homolog and probably plays important roles in embryonic development and sex differentiation of M. nipponense .     

Identification of SNPs in the 5′‐flanking region and 3′‐UTR of the MIH gene and their association with precocity of the Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis

Moult‐inhibiting hormone (MIH), an important regulator of steroidogenesis, inhibits the synthesis of ecdysteroid in Y‐organ (YO) and plays a significant role in the regulation of moulting and post‐embryonic development of crustacean. Because unsuccessful moulting have been widely observed in precocious crabs, we investigated whether genetic variants in the 5′‐flanking region and 3′‐untranslated region (3′‐UTR) of the MIH gene are associated with precocity of the Chinese mitten crab. Thirty individual DNA samples were sequenced to search for SNPs in the 5′‐flanking region and 3′‐UTR of the MIH gene. Five SNPs (g.196 T>A, g.230 C>T, g.305 T>C, g.323 C>A and g.372 C>T) in the 5′‐flanking region and 6 SNPs (g.2677 C>T, g.2759 T>A, g.2807 T>C, g.3042 A>G, g.3088 T>G and g.3295 T>G) in the 3′‐UTR of the MIH gene were selected for the individual genotyping in a two‐stage association study. We found that a SNP g.3088 T>G in the 3′‐UTR of MIH gene was consistently associated with precocity of the Chinese mitten crab in stage 1 and stage 2, with a per‐allele OR (Odds Ratio) of 1.469 (95% CI: 1.169–1.844) after two stages combined (P = 0.001). However, no significant associations were observed between the other 10 SNPs and precocity of the Chinese mitten crab. To our best knowledge, this is the first association study between various SNP genotypes and phenotype attributes in Chinese mitten crab. Our findings suggest that the SNP g.3088 T>G may be a candidate marker for effective marker‐assisted selection to decrease the precocity of the Chinese mitten crab in future studies.     

Identification of a protein kinase which phosphorylate α4 subunit of the 26S proteasome in goldfish oocytes

To investigate the regulatory mechanism for the proteasome in the meiotic cell cycle, we purified the 26S proteasome from immature (in G2-phase) and mature (in M-phase) oocytes, and compared its subunits by immunoblotting. A monoclonal antibody, GC3β (anti-goldfish 20S proteasome component 3β) cross-reacted with two bands in the 26S proteasome from immature oocytes, however the upper band was absent in the 26S proteasome from mature oocytes. cDNAs which encode the α4 subunit of goldfish 20S proteasome (α4 _ca ) were isolated by an immuno-screening method using GC3β. Phosphatase treatment of the 26S proteasome revealed that a part of α4 _ca phosphorylated in G2-phase and dephosphorylated in M-phase. By the assay using recombinant α4 _ca as a substrate, a kinase was purified by column chromatographs. Amino acid sequence analysis was performed for resulting partial purified fraction. A protein band, which well corresponded to the kinase activity, was identified as Casein kinase-1α (CK-1α). The result suggests that CK-1α phosphorylate α4 subunit of the 26S proteasome in immature oocyte of goldfish. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

仿刺参纤维胶凝蛋白基因的分子特征及表达分析

纤维胶凝蛋白是非特异性免疫系统中的重要分子。通过转录组测序及cDNA末端快速克隆技术得到一条仿刺参纤维胶凝蛋白基因的全长cDNA序列,并将其编码的蛋白命名为仿刺参纤维胶凝蛋白-1。获得的基因cDNA全长为1951bp,其中5′-末端非翻译区为397bp,3′-末端非翻译区为666bp,开放阅读框为888bp,编码295个氨基酸,N端16个氨基酸为信号肽,信号肽后面有两个G-X-Y重复序列,C端为纤维蛋白素原结构域。采用实时荧光定量PCR方法分析了仿刺参纤维胶凝蛋白-1基因在仿刺参幼参不同组织及细菌脂多糖刺激后的时序表达规律,结果显示仿刺参纤维胶凝蛋白-1基因在仿刺参的肠道、呼吸树、体腔细胞和体壁均有表达,且肠道的表达量最高;脂多糖刺激后,4种组织的仿刺参纤维胶凝蛋白-1基因表达量均有变化,且以肠道和体壁表达量的变化最为显著;此外,仿刺参纤维胶凝蛋白-1基因在仿刺参4种组织中的表达量变化具有不同的时序性,表明仿刺参纤维胶凝蛋白-1可能在仿刺参免疫应答中起重要作用。     

饥饿及恢复喂食对花鲈肠道菌群多样性的影响

为了研究饥饿及恢复摄食对花鲈肠道壁及内容物微生物菌群的影响,实验运用末端限制性片段长度多态性(T-RFLP)技术分析了花鲈经2周饥饿,恢复喂食1周和恢复喂食2周后肠道壁及其内容物菌群特征及多样性的变化。结果显示:饥饿会导致花鲈肠道壁细菌群落发生明显变化,引起差异的主要细菌为T-RFs 496、437、450、155 bp等所代表菌;经2周饥饿,肠壁T-RF 496 bp大肠杆菌(Escherichia)相对丰度从实验开始的43.11%±3.95%(C0肠壁组)下降为21.25%±9.97%(S2R0肠壁组),细菌多样性指数H′、E′和1/D均增大;恢复喂食2周后,肠道壁菌群结构逐渐恢复,T-RF 496 bp大肠杆菌的相对丰度逐渐上升到55.49%±8.37%(S2R2组),3个多样性指数均减小至原有水平;花鲈肠道壁和内容物的菌群有较大不同,但是两者的主要细菌类群都是变形菌门(Proteobacteria)、厚壁菌门(Firmicutes)、放线菌门(Actinobacteria)和拟杆菌门(Bacteroidetes),其中,γ-变形菌纲是花鲈肠道的最主要细菌群。本研究为进一步阐述消化道微生物功能奠定了基础,也为海水鱼类肠道菌群研究提供基础数据。     

刺参养殖池塘中新敌害生物澳洲异尾涡虫的鉴定及其危害

为了对导致辽宁大连、山东东营的2家养殖场池塘养殖刺参大量化皮死亡的新的敌害生物进行鉴定并确定其对养殖刺参的危害。本实验通过形态学观察、分子鉴定及系统发育分析确定了涡虫的分类地位,通过生态学方法确定了其生态适应条件,通过切割后培养的方法观测了其再生能力,通过与刺参苗种的共培养实验测试了该物种对刺参的危害及其危害方式。形态学观察结果显示,该涡虫体长0.96～3.26 mm,体宽0.49～1.93 mm,外观黄色或黄褐色,头部钝圆,具一对暗红色棒状眼点,尾部具两条并列的尾垂;显微镜镜检发现其表皮下分布密集的虫黄藻,体表周生纤毛,雌雄同体,口后具有两个生殖孔;对该物种COⅠ及18S r DNA基因片段扩增测序结果进行分析,并构建基于18S rDNA基因的系统发育树,结果显示该生物与澳洲异尾涡虫序列同源性达99.64%,根据其形态学特征,并结合18S rDNA分子鉴定结果,将该生物鉴定为澳洲异尾涡虫;进一步对其生活习性进行了研究,结果显示,该生物具有避光性,其适宜温度为18～24°C,适宜pH为5.5～8.0,适宜盐度为20～40;再生实验表明,该物种具有很强的前后轴极性再生能力;该生物与刺参的共培养实验表明,澳洲异尾涡虫对刺参体表表现出很强的趋向性,可以吸附在刺参体表导致刺参苗种溃疡、化皮甚至死亡,但刺参的体腔、肠道、呼吸树内均未发现虫体寄生。研究表明,澳洲异尾涡虫是营自由生活的池塘养殖刺参的一种新的敌害生物,在养殖过程中需要密切关注并防范该敌害生物。     

Effects of infection with the ectoparasite Argulus japonicus (Thiele) and administration of cortisol on cellular proliferation and apoptosis in the epidermis of common carp,Cyprinus carpio L., skin

The host‐parasite interaction between juvenile carp, Cyprinus carpio, and the ectoparasitic branchiuran, Argulus japonicus, together with the role of cortisol in this interaction, was examined at the level of the host skin epidermis. Epidermal mucous cell numbers, and proliferation and apoptosis of the epithelial cells were studied over 32 days. Apoptotic cell numbers in the uppermost epidermis were reduced at 26 days post‐infection with A. japonicus, while the other parameters were unaffected. Administration of cortisol‐containing food resulted in reduced apoptosis in the cells in the upper skin epidermis at 24 h and at 28 days post‐feeding. Cortisol feeding combined with A. japonicus infection reduced numbers of apoptotic cells in the upper epidermis more than either individual treatment. Further, combining the treatments also significantly increased apoptosis in the lower epidermis in cells morphologically identified as leucocytes apparently migrating macrophages and lymphocytes. Using immunohistochemistry, we demonstrated cortisol receptor presence and cellular localization in the teleost epidermis. Receptors only occurred in pavement cells in the upper epidermis and in leucocytes in the lower parts of the epidermis. The ectoparasites, or administered cortisol, induced effects which may be functionally adaptive in the upper pavement cells, while combining the two treatments also induced changes indicative of immunosuppression.