title: Identification, characterization, and functional studies of a Pelle gene in the Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis.
abstract: The toll-like receptor/NF-κB signaling pathways play an important role in the innate immune system. In the present study, one Pelle gene (named EsPelle) was identified for the first time from the Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis. The full-length cDNA of EsPelle is 3797 bp with a 3156 bp-long open reading frame that encodes a 1051 amino acid protein. EsPelle protein contains a death domain at the N-terminal and a serine/threonine kinase domain at the C-terminal. A neighbor joining phylogenetic tree showed that the EsPelle protein, which is closest to those of Scylla paramamosain Pelle and Litopenaeus vannamei Pelle, was clustered to a group of crustacean Pelle proteins. EsPelle was expressed in all tested tissues of normal crabs, and its expression was regulated in hemocytes and hepatopancreas of crabs challenged with lipopolysaccharide, peptidoglycan, Staphyloccocus aureus, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, and Aeromonas hydrophila. Overexpression of EsPelle in Drosophila Schneider 2 cells could upregulate the expression of Drosophila antimicrobial peptides, namely, metchnikowin (Mtk), attacinA (Atta), drosomycin (Drs), and cecropinA (CecA). Moreover, EsPelle silencing by siRNA reduced the transcription of anti-lipopolysaccharide factor 1 and 2, crustin 2, and lysozyme in crabs challenged with V. parahaemolyticus. From the results, we speculated that EsPelle was involved in innate immune defense against V. parahaemolyticus in E. sinensis.
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity & Biotechnology and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Aquatic Crustacean Diseases, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, 1 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing 210046, PR China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: MOE Key Laboratory of Aquatic Product Safety/State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Marine Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, PR China.
authors.forename: Yi-Hong
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity & Biotechnology and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Aquatic Crustacean Diseases, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, 1 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing 210046, PR China.
authors.forename: Yu-Zhou
authors.initials: YZ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity & Biotechnology and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Aquatic Crustacean Diseases, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, 1 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing 210046, PR China.
authors.forename: Jin-Ling
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity & Biotechnology and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Aquatic Crustacean Diseases, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, 1 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing 210046, PR China.
authors.forename: Ling-Ling
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity & Biotechnology and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Aquatic Crustacean Diseases, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, 1 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing 210046, PR China.
authors.forename: Huan-Xi
authors.initials: HX
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity & Biotechnology and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Aquatic Crustacean Diseases, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, 1 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing 210046, PR China. Electronic address: njnuwang@263.net.
authors.forename: Wen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity & Biotechnology and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Aquatic Crustacean Diseases, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, 1 Wenyuan Road, Nanjing 210046, PR China. Electronic address: renqian0402@126.com.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Ren
mesh_terms: D016980:Aeromonas hydrophila; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D060829:Arthropod Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D001483:Base Sequence; D003386:Brachyura / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D002460:Cell Line; D004330:Drosophila; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D005880:Gills / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D016905:Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000662:veterinary; D006434:Hemocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D043143:Hepatopancreas / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010457:Peptidoglycan / Q000494:pharmacology; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000662:veterinary; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus; D014736:Vibrio parahaemolyticus
chemical_list: D060829:Arthropod Proteins; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D010457:Peptidoglycan; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases
keywords: Antibacterial peptides; Eriocheir sinensis; EsPelle; Expression pattern; Innate immunity