Identification of differentially expressed genes in hepatopancreas of oriental river prawn, Macrobrachium nipponense exposed to environmental hypoxia

Gene. 2014 Jan 25;534(2):298-306.

Abstract

Hypoxia represents a major physiological challenge for prawn culture, and the hepatopancreas plays an important role in these processes. Here, we applied high-throughput sequencing technology to detect the gene expression profile of the hepatopancreas in Macrobrachium nipponense in response to hypoxia for 3 h and hypoxia for 24 h. Gene expression profiling identified 1925 genes that were significantly up- or down-regulated by dissolved oxygen availability. Functional categorization of the differentially expressed genes revealed that oxygen transport, electron transport chain, reactive oxygen species generation/scavenging, and immune response were the differentially regulated processes occurring during environmental hypoxia. Finally, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction using six genes independently verified the tag-mapped results. Immunohistochemistry analysis revealed, for the first time, hemocyanin protein expression as significant hypoxia-specific signature in prawns,which opens the way for in depth molecular studies of hypoxia exposure. The analysis of changes in hepatic gene expression in oriental river prawn provides a preliminary basis for a better understanding of the molecular response to hypoxia exposures.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cluster Analysis
  • Environment
  • Hemocyanins / genetics
  • Hepatopancreas / metabolism
  • Hepatopancreas / physiology
  • High-Throughput Screening Assays / methods
  • Hypoxia / metabolism*
  • Oxygen / metabolism
  • Palaemonidae / genetics*
  • Palaemonidae / metabolism
  • Transcriptome / genetics

Substances

  • Hemocyanins
  • Oxygen