title: Identification and developmental expression of the enzymes responsible for dopamine, histamine, octopamine and serotonin biosynthesis in the copepod crustacean Calanus finmarchicus.
abstract: Neurochemicals are likely to play key roles in physiological/behavioral control in the copepod crustacean Calanus finmarchicus, the biomass dominant zooplankton for much of the North Atlantic Ocean. Previously, a de novo assembled transcriptome consisting of 206,041 unique sequences was used to characterize the peptidergic signaling systems of Calanus. Here, this assembly was mined for transcripts encoding enzymes involved in amine biosynthesis. Using known Drosophila melanogaster proteins as templates, transcripts encoding putative Calanus homologs of tryptophan-phenylalanine hydroxylase (dopamine, octopamine and serotonin biosynthesis), tyrosine hydroxylase (dopamine biosynthesis), DOPA decarboxylase (dopamine and serotonin biosynthesis), histidine decarboxylase (histamine biosynthesis), tyrosine decarboxylase (octopamine biosynthesis), tyramine β-hydroxylase (octopamine biosynthesis) and tryptophan hydroxylase (serotonin biosynthesis) were identified. Reverse BLAST and domain analyses show that the proteins deduced from these transcripts possess sequence homology to and the structural hallmarks of their respective enzyme families. Developmental profiling revealed a remarkably consistent pattern of expression for all transcripts, with the highest levels of expression typically seen in the early nauplius and early copepodite. These expression patterns suggest roles for amines during development, particularly in the metamorphic transitions from embryo to nauplius and from nauplius to copepodite. Taken collectively, the data presented here lay a strong foundation for future gene-based studies of aminergic signaling in this and other copepod species, in particular assessment of the roles they may play in developmental control.
authors.affiliation: Békésy Laboratory of Neurobiology, Pacific Biosciences Research Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1993 East-West Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA. Electronic address: crabman@pbrc.hawaii.edu.
authors.forename: Andrew E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Christie
authors.affiliation: Békésy Laboratory of Neurobiology, Pacific Biosciences Research Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1993 East-West Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
authors.forename: Tiana M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Fontanilla
authors.affiliation: Békésy Laboratory of Neurobiology, Pacific Biosciences Research Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1993 East-West Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
authors.forename: Vittoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Roncalli
authors.affiliation: Békésy Laboratory of Neurobiology, Pacific Biosciences Research Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1993 East-West Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Cieslak
authors.affiliation: Békésy Laboratory of Neurobiology, Pacific Biosciences Research Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1993 East-West Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
authors.forename: Petra H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Lenz
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D053898:Biosynthetic Pathways / Q000235:genetics; D033342:Copepoda / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D004296:Dopa Decarboxylase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D006632:Histamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D006640:Histidine Decarboxylase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006899:Mixed Function Oxygenases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009655:Octopamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D010651:Phenylalanine Hydroxylase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics; D059467:Transcriptome; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D009655:Octopamine; D012701:Serotonin; D006632:Histamine; D006899:Mixed Function Oxygenases; C023205:tyramine beta-hydroxylase; D010651:Phenylalanine Hydroxylase; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase; D004296:Dopa Decarboxylase; D006640:Histidine Decarboxylase; D004298:Dopamine
keywords: Functional genomics; Illumina sequencing; de novo transcriptome assembly; in silico transcriptome mining