Transcriptome responses of RNAi-mediated knockdown in at different premolt substages.

Ecdysis triggering hormone (ETH) plays an important role in molting, reproduction, and courtship behavior in insects. To investigate the potential downstream pathways and genes of ETH in , RNA interference (RNAi) was conducted on crabs at early (D0) and late (D2) premolt substages, and the transcriptome profiles of each group were compared by RNA sequencing. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and semiquantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) results showed a significant knockdown of at D0 stage, whereas a significant increase was shown conversely in crabs at D2 substage after the injection of .

Characterization of a molt-related myostatin gene (FmMstn) from the banana shrimp Fenneropenaeus merguiensis.

Myostatin is an important member of the transforming growth factor (TGF) family that functions to regulate muscle growth in animals. In this study, the myostatin gene (FmMstn) and two slightly different (short and long forms) cDNAs of the banana shrimp Fenneropenaeus merguiensis were cloned and characterized. Similar to Mstn gene of the scallop, fish and mammal, FmMstn gene consists of 3 exons and 2 introns.

Identification of mud crab reovirus VP12 and its interaction with the voltage-dependent anion-selective channel protein of mud crab Scylla paramamosain.

Mud crab reovirus (MCRV) is the causative agent of a severe disease in cultured mud crab (Scylla paramamosain), which has caused huge economic losses in China. MCRV is a double-stranded RNA virus with 12 genomic segments. In this paper, SDS-PAGE, mass spectrometry and Western blot analyses revealed that the VP12 protein encoded by S12 gene is a structural protein of MCRV.

Characterization of the shrimp neuroparsin (MeNPLP): RNAi silencing resulted in inhibition of vitellogenesis.

The full-length Metapenaeus ensis neuroparsin (MeNPLP) cDNA was cloned which encodes a shrimp protein homologous to the insect neuroparsin and vertebrate insulin-like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP). MeNPLP cDNA is 1389 bp in length and the longest open reading frame is 303 bp in length. The first 27 aa are predicted to be the signal peptide and aa 28-101 is the mature peptide with an estimated molecular weight of 7.

The shrimp heat shock cognate 70 functions as a negative regulator in vitellogenin gene expression.

Within the 2.6-kb 5' flanking region of the shrimp (Metapenaeus ensis) vitellogenin gene (MeVg2), several clusters of putative heat shock factor (HSF) response elements were identified. Deletion of these response elements has caused significant increases in MeVg2 promoter activity, suggesting that the HSF and Hsc70 complex may regulate vitellogenin gene expression in a negative manner.

Litopenaeus vannamei NF-κB is required for WSSV replication.

Many viruses can hijack the host cell NF-κB as part of their life cycle, diverting NF-κB immune regulatory functions to favor their replications. There were several reports on the functions of Litopenaeus vannamei NF-κB (LvNF-κB) in White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) replication in vitro. Here, we studied the relationship between LvNF-κB family protein Dorsal (LvDorsal) and Relish (LvRelish) with WSSV replication in vivo.