title: Molecular characterization of a p38 MAPK from Litopenaeus vannamei and its expression during the molt cycle and following pathogen infection.
abstract: The p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), a serine/threonine-specific protein kinase, has been reported to be involved in innate immunity, development and muscle differentiation. To explore the function of p38 in shrimp, partial cDNA sequence of p38 in Litopenaeus vannamei (designated as Lv-p38) was characterized and the expression of Lv-p38 in hepatopancreas of the shrimp after being infected with Vibrio parahaemolyticus and in muscle of the shrimp at different molt stages was detected by quantitative RT-PCR in this study. The results showed that the open reading frame of Lv-p38 was 1098 bp and encoded a protein of 365 amino acids. The protein of Lv-p38 which showed close phylogenetic relationship to Marsupenaeus japonicus p38 had a conserved TGY motif and serine/threonine protein kinase (S_TKc) domain. The expression of Lv-p38 was detected in all tested tissues, especially in the hepatopancreas and muscle. The expression of Lv-p38 in the hepatopancreas was different from that of the control at the 24th hour after the injection of V. parahaemolyticus and in the muscle significantly increased at stage C but decreased at other stages during molt, illustrating that Lv-p38 could be involved in pathogen infection and the molt cycle of shrimp. In conclusion, we identified Lv-p38 and studied its role in pathogen infection and molting, which might facilitate our understanding of the function of p38 in innate immunity and growth during molt of shrimp.
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for Agriculture, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
authors.forename: Shulin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Zhaoying
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Xianzong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Mi
authors.forename: Yongjie
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Fujun
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.forename: Qiao
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Xiaolin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D060829:Arthropod Proteins / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D043143:Hepatopancreas / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D018978:Molting / Q000235:genetics*; D024510:Muscle Development / Q000235:genetics; D033561:Penaeidae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000382:microbiology; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014736:Vibrio parahaemolyticus / Q000502:physiology; D048051:p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D060829:Arthropod Proteins; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D048051:p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases
keywords: Litopenaeus vannamei; Molt stages; Pathogen infection; cDNA sequence; p38 MAPK