Molecular characterization of the α-subunit of Na⁺/K⁺ ATPase from the euryhaline barnacle Balanus improvisus reveals multiple genes and differential expression of alternative splice variants

PLoS One. 2013 Oct 9;8(10):e77069. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0077069. eCollection 2013.

Abstract

The euryhaline bay barnacle Balanus improvisus has one of the broadest salinity tolerances of any barnacle species. It is able to complete its life cycle in salinities close to freshwater (3 PSU) up to fully marine conditions (35 PSU) and is regarded as one of few truly brackish-water species. Na⁺/K⁺ ATPase (NAK) has been shown to be important for osmoregulation when marine organisms are challenged by changing salinities, and we therefore cloned and examined the expression of different NAKs from B. improvisus. We found two main gene variants, NAK1 and NAK2, which were approximately 70% identical at the protein level. The NAK1 mRNA existed in a long and short variant with the encoded proteins differing only by 27 N-terminal amino acids. This N-terminal stretch was coded for by a separate exon, and the two variants of NAK1 mRNAs appeared to be created by alternative splicing. We furthermore showed that the two NAK1 isoforms were differentially expressed in different life stages and in various tissues of adult barnacle, i.e the long isoform was predominant in cyprids and in adult cirri. In barnacle cyprid larvae that were exposed to a combination of different salinities and pCO2 levels, the expression of the long NAK1 mRNA increased relative to the short in low salinities. We suggest that the alternatively spliced long variant of the Nak1 protein might be of importance for osmoregulation in B. improvisus in low salinity conditions.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Cloning, Molecular
  • Exons / genetics
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
  • High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing
  • Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Phylogeny
  • Protein Isoforms / chemistry
  • Protein Isoforms / genetics
  • Protein Isoforms / metabolism
  • Protein Subunits / chemistry*
  • Protein Subunits / genetics
  • Protein Subunits / metabolism*
  • RNA, Messenger / genetics
  • RNA, Messenger / metabolism
  • Salinity
  • Seawater / chemistry
  • Sequence Alignment
  • Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase / chemistry*
  • Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase / genetics
  • Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase / metabolism*
  • Thoracica / enzymology*
  • Thoracica / growth & development
  • Thoracica / physiology

Substances

  • Protein Isoforms
  • Protein Subunits
  • RNA, Messenger
  • Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase

Associated data

  • GENBANK/KC357568
  • GENBANK/KC357569
  • GENBANK/KC357570

Grants and funding

This work was performed within Centre for Marine Evolutionary Biology (http://www.cemeb.science.gu.se) which is supported by a Linnaeus-grant from the Swedish Research Councils, VR (www.vr.se) and FORMAS (www.formas.se). MAR was partly funded by BILS. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.