Identification and Characterization of a Luteinizing Hormone Receptor (LHR) Homolog from the Chinese Mitten Crab .

Luteinizing hormone (LH), a pituitary gonadotropin, coupled with LH receptor (LHR) is essential for the regulation of the gonadal maturation in vertebrates. Although LH homolog has been detected by immunocytochemical analysis, and its possible role in ovarian maturation was revealed in decapod crustacean, so far there is no molecular evidence for the existence of LHR. In this study, we cloned a novel homolog (named ) from the Chinese mitten crab .