title: Strategy of metabolic phenotype modulation in Portunus trituberculatus exposed to low salinity.
abstract: Extreme low salinity influences normal crab growth, morphogenesis, and production. Some individuals of swimming crab Portunus trituberculatus have, however, an inherent ability to adapt to such a salinity fluctuation. This study investigated the dynamic metabolite alterations of two P. trituberculatus strains, namely, a wild one and a screened (low-salinity tolerant) one in response to low-salinity challenge by combined use of NMR spectroscopy and high-throughput data analysis. The dominant metabolites in crab muscle were found to comprise amino acids, sugars, carboxylic acids, betaine, trimethylamine-N-oxide, 2-pyridinemethanol, trigonelline, and nucleotides. These results further showed that the strategy of metabolic modulation of P. trituberculatus after low-salinity stimulus includes osmotic rebalancing, enhanced gluconeogenesis from amino acids, and energy accumulation. These metabolic adaptations were manifested in the accumulation of trimethylamine-N-oxide, ATP, 2-pyridinemethanol, and trigonelline and in the depletion of the amino acid pool as well as in the fluctuation of inosine levels. This lends support to the fact that the low-salinity training accelerates the responses of crabs to low-salinity stress. These findings provide a comprehensive insight into the mechanisms of metabolic modulation in P. trituberculatus in response to low salinity. This work highlights the approach of NMR-based metabonomics in conjunction with multivariate data analysis and univariate data analysis in understanding the strategy of metabolic phenotype modulation against stressors.
authors.affiliation: School of Marine Sciences, Ningbo University , Ningbo 315211, China.
authors.forename: Yangfang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.forename: Yanpeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: An
authors.forename: Ronghua
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Changkao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mu
authors.forename: Chunlin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003386:Brachyura / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods*; D055432:Metabolomics / Q000379:methods*; D009132:Muscles / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D010641:Phenotype; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D012965:Sodium Chloride