In search of a vitellogenesis-inhibiting hormone from the eyestalks of the South African spiny lobster,Jasus lalandii

Involvement of second messengers in the signaling pathway of vitellogenesis-inhibiting hormone and their effects on vitellogenin mRNA expression in the whiteleg shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei

We incubated fragments of Litopenaeus vannamei ovary to investigate second messengers involved in the regulation of vitellogenin (vg) mRNA levels. The use of 100nM recombinant vitellogenesis-inhibiting hormone (VIH) (corresponding to recombinant L. vannamei sinus gland peptide-G: rLiv-SGP-G) significantly reduced vg mRNA expression in sub-adults after 8h incubation to less than 20% of the control. The concentration of intracellular cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) increased 3.2-fold relative to the control after 2h incubation with rLiv-SGP-G. However, it reached levels 18-fold relative to the control after 0.5h incubation with rLiv-SGP-G where 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (a phosphodiesterase inhibitor) was also added. Moreover, vg mRNA expression was significantly reduced to less than 50% of the control after 24h incubation with 1μM A23187 (a calcium ionophore). Thus, rLiv-SGP-G and calcium ionophore reduced vg mRNA expression in in vitro-cultured ovary, and cGMP may be involved in the signaling pathway of VIH. Overall, the above results suggest that vg mRNA expression might be inhibited in vitro by increasing intracellular cGMP and Ca²⁺ in L. vannamei ovary.

Silencing of Gonad-Inhibiting Hormone Transcripts in Litopenaeus vannamei Females by use of the RNA Interference Technology

The method usually employed to stimulate gonadal maturation and spawning of captive shrimp involves unilateral eyestalk ablation, which results in the removal of the endocrine complex responsible for gonad-inhibiting hormone (GIH) synthesis and release. In the present study, RNAi technology was used to inhibit transcripts of GIH in Litopenaeus vannamei females. The effect of gene silencing on gonad development was assessed by analyzing the expression of GIH and vitellogenin, respectively, in the eyestalk and ovaries of L. vannamei females, following ablation or injection with dsRNA-GIH, dsRNA-IGSF4D (non-related dsRNA), or saline solution. Histological analyses were performed to determine the stage of gonadal development and to assess the diameter of oocytes throughout the experimental procedure. Only oocytes at pre-vitellogenesis and primary vitellogenesis stages were identified in females injected with dsRNA-GIH, dsRNA-IGSF4D, or saline solution. Oocytes at all developmental stages were observed in eyestalk-ablated females, with predominance of later stages, such as secondary vitellogenesis and mature oocytes. Despite achieving 64, 73, and 71% knockdown of eyestalk GIH mRNA levels by 15, 30, and 37 days post-injection (dpi), respectively, in dsRNA-GIH-injected females, the expected increase in ovary vitellogenin mRNA expression was only observed on the 37th dpi. This is the first report of the use of RNAi technology to develop an alternative method to eyestalk ablation in captive L. vannamei shrimps.

Distribution and changes of serotonin and dopamine levels in the central nervous system and ovary of the Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei, during ovarian maturation cycle

We investigated changes in serotonin (5-HT) and dopamine (DA) levels and in their distribution patterns in the central nervous system (CNS) and ovary during the ovarian maturation cycle in the Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei. The concentrations of these two neurotransmitters were determined by using high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. The 5-HT concentration exhibited a gradual increase in the brain and thoracic ganglia during early ovarian stages I, II, and III, reaching a maximum at the mature ovarian stage IV, whereas DA showed its highest concentration at ovarian stage II in the brain and thoracic ganglia and then declined to its lowest concentration at ovarian stage IV. In the ovaries, 5-HT was lowest at ovarian stage I and gradually increased to a peak at ovarian stage IV. Conversely, the concentration of DA was highest at ovarian stages I and II and lowest at ovarian stage IV. In the brain, 5-HT immunoreactivity (-ir) from stage IV and DA-ir from stage II were distributed extensively in neurons of clusters 6, 11, and 17, in fibers, and in the anterior and posterior medial protocerebral, olfactory, antenna II, and tegumentary neuropils. In the circumesophageal, subesophageal, thoracic, and abdominal ganglia, both 5-HT-ir and DA-ir were detected in neuropils and surrounding neurons and fibers. 5-HT-ir and DA-ir were more intense in the thoracic ganglia than in other parts of the CNS. In the ovary, 5-HT-ir exhibited high intensity in late oocytes, whereas DA-ir was more intense in early oocytes. Thus, opposing changes occur in the levels of these two neurotransmitters and in their specific localizations in the CNS and ovary during ovarian maturation, indicating their important involvement in female reproduction.

Purification of sinus gland peptides having vitellogenesis-inhibiting activity from the whiteleg shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei

Vitellogenesis-inhibiting hormone (VIH) in Crustacea belongs to the crustacean hyperglycemic hormone (CHH)-family. To characterize multiple VIH molecules in the whiteleg shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei, seven CHH-family peptides designated as Liv-SGP-A, -B, -C, -D, -E, -F, and -G were purified by reversed-phase HPLC and identified by N-terminal amino acid sequencing. The dose-response effects of these peptides on vitellogenin mRNA levels were examined using in vitro incubation of ovarian fragments of the kuruma prawn Marsupenaeus japonicus. Liv-SGP-D showed no significant inhibitory activities, while the other six peptides significantly reduced vitellogenin mRNA levels, however, with differing efficacies, in the order of Liv-SGP-C, -F, -G > -A, -B > -E. Liv-SGP-G was the most abundant CHH-family peptide in the sinus gland and showed strong vitellogenesis-inhibiting activity. As a result of detailed structural analysis, its complete primary structure was determined; it consisted of 72 amino acid residues and possesses an amidated C-terminus.

Production and characterization of recombinant vitellogenesis-inhibiting hormone from the American lobster Homarus americanus

Recombinant peptides related to vitellogenesis-inhibiting hormone (VIH) of the American lobster Homarus americanus were expressed in bacterial cells, and then purified after being allowed to refold. Biological activities of the recombinant VIHs having an amidated C-terminus (rHoa-VIH-amide) and a free carboxyl-terminus (rHoa-VIH-OH) were examined using an ovarian fragment incubation system derived from the kuruma prawn, Marsupenaeus japonicus. The rHoa-VIH-amide significantly reduced vitellogenin mRNA levels in the ovary, while rHoa-VIH-OH had no effect. This is the first report that describes the production of a crustacean VIH having biological activity and the importance of the C-terminal amidation for its vitellogenesis-inhibiting activity.

Expressed sequence tags from eyestalk of kuruma prawn, Marsupenaeus japonicus

We analyzed the expressed sequence tags (ESTs) obtained from a cDNA library of the eyestalk of the kuruma prawn, Marsupenaeus japonicus, to examine gene expression profile with special focus on female reproduction. The assembly of 1988 ESTs created 136 contigs from 738 ESTs; however 1250 ESTs remained singletons. Significant similarities (blast score > or = 50 bits) to the DNA sequences in the databank were found for only 16.7% of the 1386 sequences (136 contigs plus 1250 singletons), suggesting that the eyestalk library contains many unknown genes. Ribosomal RNA and mitochondrial respiration enzymes with significant similarities were found abundantly in the ESTs, whereas genes related to maturation or endocrine systems were scarce. Three ESTs were assumed to encode novel eyestalk hormones with marked similarities to pigment-dispersing hormone, molt-inhibiting hormone and crustacean hyperglycemic hormone. Sequences encoding a product highly homologous to farnesoic acid O-methyltransferase, an enzyme that produces methyl farnesoate, were also found.

Expression of vitellogenin and cortical rod proteins during induced ovarian development by eyestalk ablation in the kuruma prawn, Marsupenaeus japonicus

In penaeid shrimp species, ovarian development is characterized by the accumulation of a major yolk protein (vitellin) and the formation of cortical rods in the oocytes. The process is considered to be under the control of a neuroendocrine organ in the eyestalk (the X-organ sinus gland complex). In the present study, the synthesis of vitellogenin (VTG, precursor of vitellin) and two kinds of cortical rod proteins (cortical rod protein, CRP; thrombospondin, MjTSP) was induced by bilateral eyestalk ablation (removal of the X-organ sinus gland complex) in immature female kuruma prawn, Marsupenaeus japonicus, and the synthesis process was monitored over a 7-day period after the ablation. The ovarian weight and hemolymph VTG levels increased in the ablated females. The VTG mRNA levels in the ovary increased concomitantly with vitellin accumulation in the ovary after eyestalk ablation. On the other hand, the CRP and MjTSP protein levels in the ovary increased after eyestalk ablation, whereas the CRP and MjTSP mRNA levels in the ovary did not change concomitantly. The results suggest that the regulatory mechanism of gene expression by eyestalk hormones is different between VTG (transcriptional control) and CRP-MjTSP (translational control).

Expression of the Reproductive Female-Specific Vitellogenin Gene in Endocrinologically Induced Male and Intersex Cherax quadricarinatus Crayfish1

In oviparous females, the synthesis of the yolk precursor vitellogenin is an important step in ovarian maturation and oocyte development. In decapod Crustacea, including the red-claw crayfish (Cherax quadricarinatus), this reproductive process is regulated by inhibitory neurohormones secreted by the endocrine X-organ-sinus gland (XO-SG) complex. In males, the C. quadricarinatus vitellogenin gene (CqVg), although present, is not expressed under normal conditions. We show here that endocrine manipulation by removal of the XO-SG complex from male animals induced CqVg transcription. The CqVg gene was expressed differentially during the molt cycle in these induced males: no expression was seen in the intermolt stages, but expression was occasionally detected in the premolt stages and always detected in the early postmolt stages. Relative quantitation with a real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction showed that expression of CqVg in induced early postmolt males was an order of magnitude lower than that in reproductive females, a finding that was consistent with RNA in situ hybridization results. The SDS-PAGE of high-density lipoproteins from the hemolymph of endocrinologically induced early postmolt males did not show the typical vitellogenin-related polypeptide profile found in reproductive females. On the other hand, removal of the XO-SG complex from intersex individuals, which are chromosomally female but functionally male and possess an arrested female reproductive system, induced the expression, translation, and release of CqVg products into the hemolymph, as was the case for vitellogenic females. The expression of CqVg in endocrinologically manipulated molting males and intersex animals provides an inducible model for the investigation and understanding of the endocrine regulation of CqVg expression and translation in Crustacea as well as the relationship between the endocrine axes regulating molt and reproduction.

Molecular cloning and localization of a cDNA encoding a crustacean hyperglycemic hormone from the South African spiny lobster, Jasus lalandii

A cDNA, encoding a crustacean hyperglycemic hormone (cHH) of the South African spiny lobster, Jasus lalandii has been cloned. The cDNA consists of 1773 bp with an open reading frame of 399 bp that encodes a preprohormone of 133 amino acid residues. The preprohormone consists of a 25 amino acid hydrophobic signal peptide, a 32 amino acid cHH precursor-related peptide (CPRP) and the cHH sequence of 72 amino acid residues. The cHH sequence is flanked N-terminally by a Lys-Arg cleavage site and C-terminally by Gly-Lys, where Gly serves as an amidation site. The deduced amino acid sequence of the CPRP is in complete agreement with a peptide previously elucidated from sinus glands of J. lalandii, code-named CPRP 2 and the sequence of the cHH peptide matches that of the minor cHH isoform of J. lalandii, i.e. crustacean hyperglycemic hormone-II (cHH-II), which was also previously obtained by peptide sequencing. In situ hybridization on eyestalks revealed strong cHH-II mRNA expression in a subset of neurosecretory cells of the X-organ.