Effect of abamectin on osmoregulation in red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii)

As a widely used pesticide, abamectin could be a threat to nontarget organisms. In this study, the toxic mechanism of abamectin on osmoregulation in Procambarus clarkii was explored for the first time. The results of this study showed that with increasing abamectin concentration, the membrane structures of gill filaments were damaged, with changes in ATPase activities, transporter contents, biogenic amine contents, and gene expression levels. The results of this study indicated that at 0.2 mg/L abamectin, ion diffusion could maintain osmoregulation. At 0.4 mg/L abamectin, passive transport was inhibited due to damage to the membrane structures of gill filaments, and active transport needed to be enhanced for osmoregulation. At 0.6 mg/L abamectin, the membrane structures of gill filaments were seriously damaged, and the expression level of osmoregulation-related genes decreased, but the organisms were still mobilizing various transporters, ATPases, and biogenic amines to address abamectin stress. This study provided a theoretical basis for further study of the effects of contaminations in aquatic environment on the health of crustaceans.

Effects of hypo-osmotic shock on osmoregulatory responses and expression levels of selected ion transport-related genes in the sesarmid crab Episesarma mederi (H. Milne Edwards, 1853)

This study examined the osmoregulatory responses to hypo-osmotic shock in the commercially and ecologically important crab Episesarma mederi (H. Milne Edwards, 1853). After the acclimation for one week at a salinity of 25 PSU, Adult males E. mederi were immediately exposed to salinities of 5 PSU and 25 PSU (the control group). The time course of changes in haemolymph osmolality, gill Na+/K+ ATPase (NKA) activity, oxygen uptake rates, and mRNA expression levels of ion-transport related genes, including the NKA-α subunit, V-type H+ATPase (VT) and Na+/K+/2Cl-(NKCC), were determined. The results showed that E. mederi was a strong hyperosmoregulator after exposure to 5 PSU, achieved by modulations of NKA activity in their posterior gills rather than the anterior gills. The crabs acclimated to 5 PSU increased oxygen uptake, especially during the initial exposure, reflecting increased energetic costs for osmotic stress responses. In the posterior gills, the NKA activities of the crabs acclimated to 5 PSU at 3, 72 and 168 h were significantly higher than those in the control group. Elevated NKA-α subunit expression levels were detected at 6 h and 12 h. Increased expression levels of VT and NKCC were identified at 6 h and 12 h, respectively. Our results indicate that elevated gill NKA activity at 3 h could result from enzyme activity and kinetic alterations. On the other hand, the gill NKA activity at 72 and 168 h was sustained by elevated NKA-α subunit expression. Hence, these adaptive responses in osmoregulation enable the crabs to withstand hypo-osmotic challenges and thrive in areas of fluctuating salinity in mangroves and estuaries.

Effects of crustacean hyperglycaemic hormone RNA interference on regulation of glucose metabolism in Litopenaeus vannamei after ammonia-nitrogen exposure

To unveil the adaptation of Litopenaeus vannamei to elevated ambient ammonia-N, crustacean hyperglycaemic hormone (CHH) was knocked down to investigate its function in glucose metabolism pathway under ammonia-N exposure. When CHH was silenced, haemolymph glucose increased significantly during 3-6 h, decreased significantly during 12-48 h and recovered to the control groups' level at 72 h. After CHH knock-down, dopamine (DA) contents reduced significantly during 3-24 h, which recovered after 48 h. Besides, the expressions of guanylyl cyclase (GC) and DA1R in the hepatopancreas decreased significantly, while DA4R increased significantly. Correspondingly, the contents of cyclic AMP (cAMP), cyclic GMP (cGMP) and diacylglycerol (DAG) and the expressions of protein kinase A (PKA), protein kinase G (PKG), AMP active protein kinase α (AMPKα) and AMPKγ were significantly down-regulated, while the levels of protein kinase C (PKC) and AMPKβ were significantly up-regulated. The expressions of cyclic AMP response element-binding protein (CREB) and GLUT2 decreased significantly, while GLUT1 increased significantly. Moreover, glycogen content, glycogen synthase and glycogen phosphorylase activities in hepatopancreas and muscle were significantly increased. Furthermore, the levels of key enzymes hexokinase, pyruvate kinase and phosphofructokinase in glycolysis (GLY), rate-limiting enzymes citrate synthase in tricarboxylic acid and critical enzymes phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, fructose diphosphate and glucose-6-phosphatase in gluconeogenesis (GNG) were significantly decreased in hepatopancreas. These results suggest that CHH affects DA and then they affect their receptors to transmit glucose metabolism signals into the hepatopancreas of L. vannamei under ammonia-N stress. CHH acts on the cGMP-PKG-AMPKα-CREB pathway through GC, and CHH affects DA to influence cAMP-PKA-AMPKγ-CREB and DAG-PKC-AMPKβ-CREB pathways, thereby regulating GLUT, inhibiting glycogen metabolism and promoting GLY and GNG. This study contributes to further understand glucose metabolism mechanism of crustacean in response to environmental stress.

Crustacean hyperglycemic hormone (CHH) regulates the ammonia excretion and metabolism in white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei under ammonia-N stress

To understand the adaptation of Litopenaeus vannamei to high environmental ammonia-N, RNA interference was used to investigate the function of crustacean hyperglycemic hormone (CHH) in the physiological process of neuroendocrine signaling transduction, and ammonia excretion and metabolism. The shrimp were exposed to 25 mg/L NH₄Cl and injected with 20 μg/shrimp CHH dsRNA for 72 h. The results showed that hemolymph ammonia content increased under ammonia-N stress and further increased after CHH knockdown, suggesting that CHH can promote ammonia excretion. Moreover, after CHH knockdown, the levels of CHH, DA, and Wnts decreased significantly, the expression of receptor GC, DA1R, Frizzled and LRP 5/6 also decreased, while DA4R increased remarkably. Moreover, PKA and PKG decreased, while PKC markedly increased, and nuclear transcription factors (CREB and TCF) as well as effector proteins (β-catenin, FXYD2, and 14-3-3) were significantly downregulated. Furthermore, ammonia transporters Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase (NKA), K⁺channel, Rh protein, AQP, V-ATPase, and VAMP decreased significantly, while Na⁺/H⁺ exchangers (NHE) and Na⁺/K⁺/2Cl^- cotransporter (NKCC) increased significantly. These results suggest that CHH regulates ammonia excretion in three ways: 1) by mainly regulating ion channels via PKA, PKC, and PKG signaling pathways; 2) by activating related proteins primarily through Wnt signaling pathway; and 3) by exocytosis, mostly induced by the PKA signaling pathway. In addition, the levels of Gln, uric acid, and urea increased in accordance with the activities of GDH/GS, XDH, and arginase, respectively, suggesting that ammonia excretion was inhibited but ammonia metabolism was slightly enhanced. This study deepens our understanding of the mechanism by which crustaceans respond to high environmental ammonia-N.