Validation of reference genes for real-time PCR of reproductive system in the black tiger shrimp

PLoS One. 2012;7(12):e52677. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0052677. Epub 2012 Dec 28.

Abstract

Gene expression of reproductive system of the black tiger shrimp (Peneaus monodon) has been widely studied to address poor maturation problem in captivity. However, a systematic evaluation of reference genes in quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) for P. monodon reproductive organs is lacking. In this study, the stability of four potential reference genes (18s rRNA, GAPDH, β-actin, and EF1-α) was examined in the reproductive tissues in various conditions using bioinformatic tools: NormFinder and geNorm. For NormFinder, EF1-α and GAPDH ranked first and second as the most stable genes in testis groups whereas GAPDH and EF1-α were for ovaries from wild-caught broodstock and domesticated groups. EF1-α and β-actin ranked first and second for the eyestalk ablated ovaries. For geNorm, EF1-α and GAPDH had the best stability in all testis and ovaries from domesticated groups whereas EF1-α and β-actin were the best for ovaries from wild-caught and eyestalk ablated groups. Moreover, the expression levels of two well-known reproductive genes, Dmc1 and Vitellogenin, were used to validate these reference genes. When normalized to EF1-α, the expected expression patterns were obtained in all cases. Therefore, this work suggests that EF1-α is more versatile as reference genes in qPCR analysis for reproductive system in P. monodon.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Decapoda / genetics*
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Profiling*
  • Gene Expression Regulation
  • Genes, Essential
  • Male
  • Ovary / metabolism
  • Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Reproduction / genetics
  • Testis / metabolism

Grants and funding

This research is supported by the National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC, Thailand) and Cluster and Program Management Office of the National Science and Technology Development Agency, Thailand (Grant number: P10-10467 and URL: http://www.nstda.or.th/scholarship). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.