title: Transcriptomic variation of hepatopancreas reveals the energy metabolism and biological processes associated with molting in Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis.
abstract: Molting is a critical developmental process for crustaceans, yet the underlying molecular mechanism is unknown. In this study, we used RNA-Seq to investigate transcriptomic profiles of the hepatopancreas and identified differentially expressed genes at four molting stages of Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis). A total of 97,398 transcripts were assembled, with 31,900 transcripts annotated. Transcriptomic comparison revealed 1,189 genes differentially expressed amongst different molting stages. We observed a pattern associated with energy metabolism and physiological responses during a molting cycle. In specific, differentially expressed genes enriched in postmolt were linked to energy consumption whereas genes enriched in intermolt were related to carbohydrates, lipids metabolic and biosynthetic processes. In premolt, a preparation stage for upcoming molting and energy consumption, highly expressed genes were enriched in response to steroid hormone stimulus and immune system development. The expression profiles of twelve functional genes detected via RNA-Seq were corroborated through real-time RT-PCR assay. Together, our results, including assembled transcriptomes, annotated functional elements and enriched differentially expressed genes amongst different molting stages, provide novel insights into the functions of the hepatopancreas in energy metabolism and biological processes pertaining to molting in crustaceans.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fisheries Germplasm Resources, Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China.
authors.forename: Shu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fisheries Germplasm Resources, Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fisheries Germplasm Resources, Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China.
authors.forename: Wucheng
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yue
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fisheries Germplasm Resources, Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China.
authors.forename: Jiao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, NE 68182, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gaughan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fisheries Germplasm Resources, Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China.
authors.forename: Weiqun
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, NE 68182, USA.
authors.forename: Guoqing
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fisheries Germplasm Resources, Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China.
authors.forename: Chenghui
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003386:Brachyura / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D019295:Computational Biology / Q000379:methods; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000235:genetics*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D043143:Hepatopancreas / Q000378:metabolism*; D058977:Molecular Sequence Annotation; D018978:Molting / Q000235:genetics*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D059467:Transcriptome