Molecular cloning and expression profiles of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in mud crab Scylla paramamosain

H2O2-Induced Oxidative Stress Responses in Eriocheir sinensis: Antioxidant Defense and Immune Gene Expression Dynamics

Eriocheir sinensis, a key species in China's freshwater aquaculture, is threatened by various diseases, which were verified to be closely associated with oxidative stress. This study aimed to investigate the response of E. sinensis to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced oxidative stress to understand the biological processes behind these diseases. Crabs were exposed to different concentrations of H2O2 and their antioxidant enzyme activities and gene expressions for defense and immunity were measured. Results showed that activities of antioxidant enzymes-specificallysuperoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), total antioxidant capacity(T-AOC), glutathione (GSH), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px)-varied with exposure concentration and duration, initially increasing then decreasing. Notably, SOD, GSH-Px, and T-AOC activities dropped below control levels at 96 h. Concurrently, oxidative damage markers, including malondialdehyde (MDA), H2O2, and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) levels, increased with exposure duration. The mRNA expression of SOD, CAT, and GSH-Px also showed an initial increase followed by a decrease, peaking at 72 h. The upregulation of phenoloxidaseloxidase (proPO) and peroxinectin (PX) was also detected, but proPO was suppressed under high levels of H2O2. Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) expression gradually increased with higher H2O2 concentrations, whereas induced nitrogen monoxide synthase (iNOS) was upregulated but decreased at 96 h. These findings emphasize H2O2's significant impact on the crab's oxidative and immune responses, highlighting the importance of understanding cellular stress responses for disease prevention and therapy development.

Molecular mechanism of the NOS/NOX regulation of antibacterial activity in Eriocheir sinensis

To elucidate the role of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), which produces the free radical nitric oxide (NO), and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase (NOX), which produces the superoxide anion (O2-), in the innate immunity of Eriocheir sinensis, the full lengths of the NOS and NOX genes were cloned via rapid amplification of the cDNA ends and then expressed in the prokaryotic form to obtain the recombinant proteins, NOS-HIS and NOX-HIS. Through bacterial binding and stimulation experiments, the molecular mechanisms of NOS and NOX in the innate immunity of E. sinensis were explored. Based on the results, NOS and NOX were 5900 bp and 4504 bp long, respectively, and were evolutionarily conserved. Quantitative real-time PCR revealed that NOS and NOX were expressed in all studied tissues, and both were expressed in the highest amounts in hemocytes. NOS-HIS and NOX-HIS could bind to bacteria with different binding powers; their binding ability to gram-positive bacteria was higher than that of binding to gram-negative bacteria. After stimulation with Aeromonas hydrophila, NOS expression was significantly up-regulated at 3, 6, and 48 h, and NOX expression was significantly down-regulated at 3, 12, 24, and 48 h. After bacterial stimulation, the NOS enzyme activity in the serum of E. sinensis was also significantly up-regulated at 6 and 48 h, and the NOX enzyme activity was significantly down-regulated at 12 and 48 h, aligning with the gene expression trend. Moreover, the related free radical molecules, NO, O2-, and H2O2, tended to decrease after bacterial stimulation. Overall, the gene expression and enzyme activity of NOS and NOX had been changed respectively, and the contents of a series of free radical molecules (NO, O2- and H2O2) were induced in E. sinensis after bacterial stimulation, which then exert antibacterial immunity.

mARC dependent NO synthesis activates CanA-Relish-AMPs signal pathway in Eriocheir sinensis during nitrite stress

As a signal molecule, nitric oxide (NO) can induce the production of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in invertebrate innate immunity and is produced through NO synthase (NOS) oxidation or nitrite reduction. Although the role of NOS-derived NO has been extensively studied, studies on nitrite-dependent NO are relatively scarce. In this study, we identified a mitochondrial amidoxime reducing component (mARC), a kind of nitrite reductase, in Eriocheir sinensis. Under nitrite stress, the expression level of EsmARC in the intestine of E. sinensis increased, and the production of NO increased. Furthermore, EsmARC knockdown resulted in a remarkable decrease in NO concentration. These findings indicate that nitrite stress induces the expression of mARC, which promotes the production of NO in E. sinensis. In addition, the expression levels of AMPs in the intestine were upregulated under nitrite stress. Moreover, EsmARC knockdown resulted in the downregulated expression of AMPs. EsmARC plays a positive role in the synthesis of AMPs under nitrite stress. Calcineurin subunit A (CanA) is a serine/threonine protein phosphatase involved in the process by which NO regulates the expression of AMPs. EsCanA knockdown significantly inhibited the transcription of EsRelish and the expression of AMPs under nitrite stress, and EsRelish silencing resulted in the downregulated expression levels of AMPs under nitrite stress. These results indicate that nitrite stress activates the CanA-Relish-AMP pathway in E. sinensis. In summary, mARC-dependent NO synthesis activates the CanA-Relish-AMP signal pathway in E. sinensis during nitrite stress. This research provides novel insights into the relationship between nitrite stress and NO-dependent immune signal activation in crustaceans.

WSV056 Inhibits Shrimp Nitric Oxide Synthase Activity by Downregulating Litopenaeus vannamei Sepiapterin Reductase to Promote White Spot Syndrome Virus Replication

Sepiapterin reductase (Spr) plays an essential role in the biosynthesis of tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4), a key cofactor of multiple enzymes involved in various physiological and immune processes. Suppression of Spr could result in BH4 deficiency-caused diseases in human and murine models. However, information on the biological function of Spr in invertebrates is limited. In this study, two Sprs (CG12116 and Sptr) from Drosophila melanogaster were found to be downregulated in transgenic flies overexpressing white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) immediate-early protein WSV056. CG12116 and Sptr exerted an inhibitory effect on the replication of the Drosophila C virus. A Litopenaeus vannamei Spr (LvSpr) exhibiting similarity of 64.1–67.5% and 57.3–62.2% to that of invertebrate and vertebrate Sprs, respectively, were cloned. L. vannamei challenged with WSSV revealed a significant decrease in LvSpr transcription and Spr activity in hemocytes. In addition, the BH4 co-factored nitric oxide synthase (Nos) activity in shrimp hemocytes was reduced in WSSV-infected and LvSpr knockdown shrimp, suggesting WSSV probably inhibits the LvNos activity through LvSpr downregulation to limit the production of nitric oxide (NO). Knockdown of LvSpr and LvNos caused the reduction in NO level in hemocytes and the increase of viral copy numbers in WSSV-infected shrimp. Supplementation of NO donor DETA/NO or double gene knockdown of WSV056 + LvSpr and WSV056 + LvNos recovered the NO production, whereas the WSSV copy numbers were decreased. Altogether, the findings demonstrated that LvSpr and LvNos could potentially inhibit WSSV. In turn, the virus has evolved to attenuate NO production via LvSpr suppression by WSV056, allowing evasion of host antiviral response to ensure efficient replication.

A Possible Role of Crustacean Cardioactive Peptide in Regulating Immune Response in Hepatopancreas of Mud Crab

Crustacean cardioactive peptide (CCAP), a cyclic amidated non-apeptide, is widely found in arthropods. The functions of CCAP have been revealed to include regulation of heart rate, intestinal peristalsis, molting, and osmotic pressure. However, to date, there has not been any report on the possible involvement of CCAP in immunoregulation in crustaceans. In this study, a CCAP precursor (designated as Sp-CCAP) was identified in the commercially important mud crab Scylla paramamosain, which could be processed into four CCAP-associated peptides and one mature peptide (PFCNAFTGC-NH₂). Bioinformatics analysis indicated that Sp-CCAP was highly conserved in crustaceans. RT-PCR results revealed that Sp-CCAP was expressed in nerve tissues and gonads, whereas the Sp-CCAP receptor gene (Sp-CCAPR) was expressed in 12 tissues of S. paramamosain, including hepatopancreas. In situ hybridization further showed that an Sp-CCAPR-positive signal is mainly localized in the F-cells of hepatopancreas. Moreover, the mRNA expression level of Sp-CCAPR in the hepatopancreas was significantly up-regulated after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or polyriboinosinic polyribocytidylic acid [Poly (I:C)] challenge. Meanwhile, the mRNA expression level of Sp-CCAPR, nuclear transcription factor NF-κB homologs (Sp-Dorsal and Sp-Relish), member of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway (Sp-P38), pro-inflammatory cytokines factor (Sp-TNFSF and Sp-IL16), and antimicrobial peptide (Sp-Lysozyme, Sp-ALF, Sp-ALF4, and Sp-ALF5) in the hepatopancreas were all up-regulated after the administration of synthetic Sp-CCAP mature peptide both in vivo and in vitro. The addition of synthetic Sp-CCAP mature peptide in vitro also led to an increase in nitric oxide (NO) concentration and an improved bacterial clearance ability in the hepatopancreas culture medium. The present study suggested that Sp-CCAP signaling system might be involved in the immune responses of S. paramamosain by activating immune molecules on the hepatopancreas. Collectively, our findings shed new light on neuroendocrine-immune regulatory system in arthropods and could potentially provide a new strategy for disease prevention and control for mud crab aquaculture.

Arginine supplementation improves growth, antioxidant capacity, immunity and disease resistance of juvenile Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis

To investigate the effects of arginine (Arg) on the growth, antioxidant capacity, immunity and disease resistance of juvenile Chinese mitten crab, three diets containing Arg levels at 1.72% (control), 2.73% and 3.72% were formulated and fed to Chinese mitten crab (0.22 ± 0.03 g) for eight weeks. The weight gain, ecdysterone and growth hormone in the serum, relative expression of insulin-like growth factor 2 in the hepatopancreas significantly increased in crabs fed the 2.73% and 3.72% Arg diets. The protein and lipid contents significantly increased in crabs fed the 3.72% Arg diet. The feed conversion ratios in crabs fed the diets with Arg additions were lower than in the control. Arg supplementation also enhanced the antioxidative capacity by increasing the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase and the relative expression of Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 gene in the hepatopancreas, which subsequently decreased malondialdehyde content in the hepatopancreas. Besides, Arg also decreased nitric oxide content in the serum and the activity of nitric oxide synthetase in the hepatopancreas. The relative mRNA levels of crustin, relish, lysozyme and cryptocyanin genes were significantly upregulated by Arg supplementation. The activities of acid phosphatase and alkaline phosphatase in the serum significantly increased in crabs fed the 3.72% Arg diet than those in the control. Similarly, the relative mRNA levels of crustin, cryptocyanin and proPO genes were significantly upregulated in crabs fed the 2.73% Arg diet after lipopolysaccharide challenge, and in crabs fed the 3.72% Arg diet after the Poly (I:C) challenge. The crabs fed the 2.73% and 3.72% Arg diets had higher survival rate after bacterial infection than those fed the control diet. This study indicates that the addition of Arg to the diet at 2.7-3.7% can improve the growth, survival, antioxidant capacity, immunity and disease resistance in juvenile Chinese mitten crab.

Hemocytes of the mud crab Scylla paramamosain: Cytometric, morphological characterization and involvement in immune responses

Hemocytes play essential roles in the innate immune system of crustaceans. Characterization of hemocytes from estuary mud crab Scylla paramamosain was performed by flow cytometry and morphological studies such as cytochemical staining and electron microscopy. The hemocyte subsets were further separated using a modified Percoll density gradient centrifugation method. Based on the morphological characteristics of the cells, three distinct categories of hemocytes were identified: granulocytes with abundant large granularity representing 5.27 ± 0.42%, semigranulocytes with small or less granularity representing 76.03 ± 3.34%, and hyalinocytes (18.70 ± 3.92%) which were almost no granularity. The total hemocyte cell count and the percentage of hemocyte subsets varied after pathogen infection, including Vibrio alginolyticus and the viral double-stranded RNA analog Poly (I:C). The phagocytic process is of fundamental importance for crustaceans' cellular immune response as well as development and survival. The results of the in vitro phagocytosis assays analyzed by flow cytometry demonstrated that granulocytes and semigranulocytes had significantly higher phagocytic ability than hyalinocytes. A primary culture system, L-15 medium supplemented with 5-10% fetal bovine serum, was developed to further investigate the immune function of hemocytes. Furthermore, adenovirus can be utilized to effectively transfer GFP gene into hemocytes. Overall, three hemocyte sub-populations of S. paramamosain were successfully discriminated, moreover, their response to pathogen infections, phagocytic activity and adenovirus mediated transfection were also investigated for the first time. This study may contribute to a better understanding of the innate immune system of estuary crabs.

Characterize a typically Dscam with alternative splicing in mud crab Scylla paramamosain

As a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily, Down syndrome cell adhesion molecule (Dscam) could function in the innate immunity of invertebrates. Recently, it is shown that arthropod Dscams play similar functions as antibodies in the adaptive immune system. Dscam could produce thousands of isoforms by alternative splicing and specifically bind to various pathogens. In the present study, we cloned the first Dscam from mud crab Scylla paramamosain (SpDscam), with full-length cDNA 7363 bp containing an open reading frame (ORF) of 6069bp and encoding 2022 amino acids, which had typical domain architecture as other arthropods, i.e., 10 immunoglobulin domains (Ig), 6 fibronectin type 3 domains (FN III), transmembrane and cytoplasmic tail. Quantitative real-time PCR revealed that SpDscam was highly expressed in brain, skin, muscle, intestine and hepatopancreas, but weakly expressed in hemolymph, heart and gill. SpDscam had three alternative splicing regions, located at the N-terminal of Ig2 and Ig3 as well as on the whole Ig7. In these regions, 32, 41 and 14 exons were detected, together with the two exon types of transmembrane domain, indicating SpDscam could potentially encode at least 36,736 unique isoforms. SpDscam induced by Vibrio parahaemolyticus challenge had strong binding ability to V. parahaemolyticus. Further, SpDscam induced by V. parahaemolyticus possessed a clearance of V. parahaemolyticus in S. paramamosain. Collectively, the results indicated SpDscam was a hypervariable pattern-recognition receptor (PRR) by alternative splicing in innate immunity system of mud crab S. paramamosain.

The expression signatures of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (NOS1) in turbot (Scophthalmus maximus L.) mucosal surfaces against bacterial challenge

The mucosal surfaces constitute the first immune barrier of host defense and also serve as the dynamic interfaces that simultaneously mediate a diverse array of critical physiological processes. It has been long hypothesized that observed difference of disease resistance among different fish strains and species are strongly correlated to the activities of the immune actors in mucosal surfaces. Particularly, neuronal NOS (nNOS or NOS1) is a constitutively expressed gene that catalyzes the oxidation of l-arginine and water to nitric oxide (NO), which is known as a potent host defence effector in immune system with antimicrobial activity. Moreover, NOS1 was detected to be expressed in fish mucosal surfaces, but its activities in mucosal immune responses were always overlooked. In this regard, we identified the NOS1 of turbot and characterized its expression patterns in mucosal tissues following Vibrio anguillarum and Streptococcus iniae challenge. The results showed that the NOS1 gene had a 4389 bp open reading frame (ORF) that encoded 1462 amino acids. Phylogenetic analysis showed the turbot NOS1 had the strongest relationship to Larimichthys crocea. And the syntenic analysis revealed the similar neighboring genes associated with turbot NOS1, compared with other teleost and mammals. In addition, NOS1 was widely expressed in all examined tissues with the highest expression level in brain, followed by intestine and gill. Finally, the NOS1 showed a general trend of up-regulation in mucosal tissues following both bacterial challenge, with the highest up-regulation in intestine. The significant quick induction of NOS1 in mucosal surfaces against infection indicated its key roles to prevent pathogen attachment and entry in mucosal immunity. More functional studies are needed to conduct in teleost to better understand the roles of NOS1 in maintaining the integrity of the mucosal barriers against infection.

Molecular characterization of a novel nitric oxide synthase gene from Portunus trituberculatus and the roles of NO/O2(-)- generating and antioxidant systems in host immune responses to Hematodinium

Increasing evidences have established that the nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and NADPH oxidase (NOX) play important roles in host defense system by catalyzing the production of nitrogen oxide (NO) and superoxide anions (O2(-)), respectively. While, there are limited studies to explore the roles of NOS/NOX enzymes in crustacean immunity, and no studies as yet were attempted to elucidate their functions in host immune responses to parasites. In the present study, we cloned a full-length cDNA of NOS and two partial cDNA fragments of NOX and GPx from the economic valuable crab Portunus trituberculatus. The full-length cDNA of NOS was 4002 bp in length that encoded 1203 amino acids containing motifs of the NOS protein and conserved domains. The phylogenetic analysis showed that the NOS protein sequence was clustered together with those of crustacean species in the phylogenetic tree. All of the three novel genes showed high mRNA transcripts in the immune-related tissues (e.g. hemocytes, hepatopancreas) of P. trituberculatus. Striking fluctuation in the transcripts of the critical NO/O2(-)- generating/scavenging related genes (NOS, NOX, CuZnSOD, CAT, GPx) as well as in the enzymatic activities of NOS, NOX, SOD, CAT and GPx were observed in the hemocytes and hepatopancreas of P. trituberculatus post challenged with the parasitic dinoflagellate Hematodinium, indicating that the NO/O2(-)- generating and the antioxidant systems played vital roles in the crustacean innate immunity against the parasitic intrusion. The results indicated a novel respect of the host-parasite interaction between the crab host and the parasitic dinoflagellate Hematodinium.

Identification of a novel clip domain serine proteinase (Sp-cSP) and its roles in innate immune system of mud crab Scylla paramamosain

Clip domain serine proteinases and their homologs are involved in the innate immunity of invertebrates. To identify the frontline defense molecules against pathogenic infection, we isolated a novel clip domain serine proteinase (Sp-cSP) from the hemocytes of mud crab Scylla paramamosain. The full-length 1362 bp Sp-cSP contains a 1155 bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding 384 amino acids. Multiple alignment analysis showed that the putative amino acid sequence of Sp-cSP has about 52% and 51% identity with Pt-cSP2 (AFA42360) and Pt-cSP3 (AFA42361) from Portunus trituberculatus, respectively, while the similarity with other cSP sequences was lower than 30%. However, all cSP sequences possess a conserved clip domain at the N-terminal and a Tryp-SPc domain at the C-terminal. The genomic organization of Sp-cSP consists of nine exons and eight introns, with some introns containing one or more tandem repeats. RT-PCR results indicated that Sp-cSP transcripts were predominantly expressed in the subcuticular epidermis, muscle and mid-intestine, but barely detectable in the brain and heart. Further, Sp-cSP transcripts were significantly up-regulated after challenge with lipopolysaccharides (LPS), Vibrio parahaemolyticus, polyinosinic polycytidylic acid (PolyI:C) or white spot syndrome virus (WSSV). Moreover, in vitro, the recombinant Sp-cSP revealed a strong antimicrobial activity against a Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and four Gram-negative (V. parahaemolyticus, Vibrio alginolyticus, Escherichia coli, Aeromonas hydrophila) bacteria in a dose-dependent manner. Taken together, the acute-phase response to immune challenges and the antimicrobial activity assay indicate that Sp-cSP is a potent immune protector and plays an important role in host defense against pathogen invasion in S. paramamosain.

Nitric oxide as an antimicrobial molecule against Vibrio harveyi infection in the hepatopancreas of Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei

Nitric oxide (NO) is a key effector molecule produced in the innate immune systems of many species for antimicrobial defense. However, how NO production is regulated during bacterial infection in invertebrates, especially crustaceans, remains poorly understood. Vibrio harveyi, a Gram-negative marine pathogen, is among the most prevalent and serious threats to the world's shrimp culture industry. Its virulence typically manifests itself through shrimp hepatopancreas destruction. In the current study, we found that NO generated by an in vitro donor system (NOC-18) could rapidly and effectively kill V. harveyi. In addition, injection of heat-killed V. harveyi increased the concentration of NO/nitrite and the mRNA expression of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in the hepatopancreas of Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei), the commercially most significant shrimp species. Live V. harveyi challenge also induced NO/nitrite production and NOS gene expression in primary L. vannamei hepatopancreatic cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Co-incubation of l-NAME, an inhibitor selective for mammalian constitutive NOSs, dose-dependently blocked V. harveyi-induced NO/nitrite production, without affecting V. harveyi-induced NOS mRNA expression. Furthermore, l-NAME treatment significantly increased the survival rate of infecting V. harveyi in cultured primary hepatopancreatic cells of L. vannamei. As a whole, we have demonstrated that endogenous NO produced by L. vannamei hepatopancreatic cells occurs in enzymatically regulated manners and is sufficient to act as a bactericidal molecule for V. harveyi clearance.

Characterization of a novel anti-lipopolysaccharide factor isoform (SpALF5) in mud crab, Scylla paramamosain

Anti-lipopolysaccharide factors (ALFs), the potential antimicrobial peptides that bind and neutralize lipopolysaccharide (LPS), are common effectors of innate immunity in crustaceans. In this study, a novel isoform of ALFs (SpALF5) was isolated from the hemocytes of mud crab Scylla paramamosain. The full-length 975bp SpALF5 contains a 375bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding 125 amino acids. Although SpALF5 exhibits a low degree of nucleotide homology with other reported ALFs, it contains the conserved amino acid sequence with a signal peptide and a LPS-binding domain including two conservative cysteine residues. The genomic organization of SpALF5 consists of four exons and three introns, with each intron containing one or more tandem repeats. Unlike most of ALFs mainly distributed in crab hemocytes, SpALF5 transcript was predominantly observed in the brain, muscle and skin, while barely detected in the hemocytes in our study. In situ hybridization assay also showed that SpALF5 mRNA was localized in brain, muscle and skin tissues of mud crab. Further, SpALF5 transcript was significantly up-regulated after challenge with LPS, polyinosinic polycytidylic acid (PolyI:C) (with the except of that in brain), Vibrio parahemolyticus or white spot syndrome virus (WSSV). The recombinant SpALF5 protein showed a varying degree of binding activity towards bacteria and fungus. Moreover, in vitro, the recombinant SpALF5 revealed a strong antimicrobial activity against Gram-negative bacteria (V. parahemolyticus, Vibrio alginolyticus, Escherichia coli, Aeromonas hydrophila) and fungus (Sacchromyces cerevisiae), but could only inhibited the growth of some Gram-positive bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus. The results suggest that SpALF5 is a potent immune protector and plays an important role in immune defense against invading pathogens in S. paramamosain.

Transcriptome and expression profiling analysis of the hemocytes reveals a large number of immune-related genes in mud crab Scylla paramamosain during Vibrio parahaemolyticus infection

BACKGROUND

Mud crab Scylla paramamosain is an economically important marine species in China. However, frequent outbreaks of infectious diseases caused by marine bacteria, such as Vibrio parahaemolyticus, result in great economic losses.

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

Comparative de novo transcriptome analysis of S. paramamosain infected with V. parahaemolyticus was carried out to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the immune response to pathogenic bacteria by using the Illumina paired-end sequencing platform. A total of 52,934,042 clean reads from the hemocytes of V. parahaemolyticus-infected mud crabs and controls were obtained and assembled into 186,193 contigs. 59,120 unigenes were identified from 81,709 consensus sequences of mud crabs and 48,934 unigenes were matched proteins in the Nr or Swissprot databases. Among these, 10,566 unigenes belong to 3 categories of Gene Ontology, 25,349 to 30 categories of KEGG, and 15,191 to 25 categories of COG database, covering almost all functional categories. By using the Solexa/Illumina's DGE platform, 1213 differentially expressed genes (P<0.05), including 538 significantly up-regulated and 675 down-regulated, were detected in V. parahaemolyticus-infected crabs as compared to that in the controls. Transcript levels of randomly-chosen genes were further measured by quantitative real-time PCR to confirm the expression profiles. Many differentially expressed genes are involved in various immune processes, including stimulation of the Toll pathway, Immune Deficiency (IMD) pathway, Ras-regulated endocytosis, and proPO-activating system.

CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE

Analysis of the expression profile of crabs under infection provides invaluable new data for biological research in S. paramamosain, such as the identification of novel genes in the hemocytes during V. parahaemolyticus infection. These results will facilitate our comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms involved in the immune response to bacterial infection and will be helpful for diseases prevention in crab aquaculture.

Diffusible gas transmitter signaling in the copepod crustacean Calanus finmarchicus: identification of the biosynthetic enzymes of nitric oxide (NO), carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) using a de novo assembled transcriptome

Neurochemical signaling is a major component of physiological/behavioral control throughout the animal kingdom. Gas transmitters are perhaps the most ancient class of molecules used by nervous systems for chemical communication. Three gases are generally recognized as being produced by neurons: nitric oxide (NO), carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S). As part of an ongoing effort to identify and characterize the neurochemical signaling systems of the copepod Calanus finmarchicus, the biomass dominant zooplankton in much of the North Atlantic Ocean, we have mined a de novo assembled transcriptome for sequences encoding the neuronal biosynthetic enzymes of these gases, i.e. nitric oxide synthase (NOS), heme oxygenase (HO) and cystathionine β-synthase (CBS), respectively. Using Drosophila proteins as queries, two NOS-, one HO-, and one CBS-encoding transcripts were identified. Reverse BLAST and structural analyses of the deduced proteins suggest that each is a true member of its respective enzyme family. RNA-Seq data collected from embryos, early nauplii, late nauplii, early copepodites, late copepodites and adults revealed the expression of each transcript to be stage specific: one NOS restricted primarily to the embryo and the other was absent in the embryo but expressed in all other stages, no CBS expression in the embryo, but present in all other stages, and HO expressed across all developmental stages. Given the importance of gas transmitters in the regulatory control of a number of physiological processes, these data open opportunities for investigating the roles these proteins play under different life-stage and environmental conditions in this ecologically important species.

Nitric oxide production and sequestration in the sinus gland of the green shore crab, Carcinus maneas

Molting in decapod crustaceans is regulated by molt-inhibiting hormone (MIH), a neuropeptide produced in the X-organ (XO)/sinus gland (SG) complex of the eyestalk ganglia (ESG). Pulsatile release of MIH from the SG suppresses ecdysteroidogenesis by the molting gland or Y-organ (YO). The hypothesis is that nitric oxide (NO), a neuromodulator that controls neurotransmitter release at presynaptic membranes, depresses the frequency and/or amount of MIH pulses to induce molting. NO synthase (NOS) mRNA was present in Carcinus maneas ESG and other tissues and NOS protein was present in the SG. A copper based ligand (CuFL), which reacts with NO to form a highly fluorescent product (NO-FL), was used to image NO in the ESG and SG and quantify the effects of NO scavenger (1 mM cPTIO), NOS inhibitor (1 mM L-NAME), and 1 mM sodium azide (NaN3) on NO production in the SG. Preincubation with cPTIO prior to CuFL loading decreased NO-FL fluorescence ~30%; including L-NAME had no additional effect. Incubating SG with L-NAME during preincubation and loading decreased NO-FL fluorescence ~40%, indicating that over half of the NO release was not directly dependent on NOS activity. Azide, which reacts with NO-binding metal groups in proteins, reduced NO-FL fluorescence to near background levels without extensive cell death. Spectral shift analysis showed that azide displaced NO from a soluble protein in SG extract. These data suggest that the SG contains NO-binding protein(s) that sequester NO and releases it over a prolonged period. This NO release may modulate neuropeptide secretion from the axon termini in the SG.

Multiplex immune-related genes expression analysis response to bacterial challenge in mud crab, Scylla paramamosain

Crabs lack an acquired adaptive immune system and host defense is believed to depend entirely on innate, non-adaptive mechanisms to resist invasion by pathogens. Discovery of immune-related factors are helpful for understanding the molecular response of crabs to pathogens. The mud crab Scylla paramamosain is an important marine species for aquaculture in China because of its high nutritional value for humans. In recent years, the crab is prone to being infected by microbes with the enlargement of breeding scale. In this study, eight immune-related genes were analyzed by multiplex genes expression analysis using the GenomeLab GeXP analysis system (Beckman Coulter). The expression levels of all the detected genes rose after challenged by the live bacteria, but the levels of only four genes (C-type lectin, alpha 2-macroglobulin, HSP70 and thioredoxin 1) increased after challenge in heat-killed bacteria group. So the live bacteria were more effective in motivating expressions of immune factors than heat-killed bacteria. However, the transcript of C-type lectin firstly increased at 1 h after challenge in both heat-killed and live bacteria group. This indicated that C-type lectin was a quite susceptive immune factor responding to external pathogen. In group challenged by live bacteria, the genes of alpha 2-macroglobulin, HSP40, thioredoxin 1 and prophenoloxidase activating factor (PPAF) showed response earlier than the other genes. The rise of PPAF expression preceded prophenoloxidase (proPO), which suggested that PPAF might trigger production of proPO transcripts in the early stage of phenoloxidase reaction system. C-type lectin, proPO, thioredoxin 1, HSP40, and alpha 2-macroglobulin are very important immunity factors in response to bacterial infection. According to the result of heat-killed group, HSP70 is a sensitively inductive factor to foreign stimulus compared with the other genes. The multi-gene analysis presented an alternative approach for screening of immune-related genes, and provided a more global overview of genes transcript alteration in response to bacterial challenge.