Analysis of the transcriptome data in Litopenaeus vannamei reveals the immune basis and predicts the hub regulation-genes in response to high-pH stress

PLoS One. 2018 Dec 5;13(12):e0207771. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0207771. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

Soil salinization erodes the farmlands and poses a serious threat to human life, reuse of the saline-alkali lands as cultivated resources becomes increasingly prominent. Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) is an important farmed aquatic species for the development and utilization of the saline-alkali areas. However, little is known about the adaptation mechanism of this species in terms of high-pH stress. In the present study, a transcriptome analysis on the gill tissues of L. vannamei in response to high-pH stress (pH 9.3 ± 0.1) was conducted. After analyzing, the cyclic nucleotide gated channel-Ca2+ (CNGC-Ca2+) and patched 1 (Ptc1) were detected as the majority annotated components in the cAMP signaling pathway (KO04024), indicating that the CNGC-Ca2+ and Ptc1 might be the candidate components for transducing and maintaining the high-pH stress signals, respectively. The immunoglobulin superfamily (IgSF), heat shock protein (HSP), glutathione s-transferase (GST), prophenoloxidase/phenoloxidase (proPO/PO), superoxide dismutase (SOD), anti-lipopolysaccharide factor (ALF) and lipoprotein were discovered as the major transcribed immune factors in response to high-pH stress. To further detect hub regulation-genes, protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks were constructed; the genes/proteins "Polymerase (RNA) II (DNA directed) polypeptide A" (POLR2A), "Histone acetyltransferase p300" (EP300) and "Heat shock 70kDa protein 8" (HSPA8) were suggested as the top three hub regulation-genes in response to acute high-pH stress; the genes/proteins "Heat shock 70kDa protein 4" (HSPA4), "FBJ murine osteosarcoma viral oncogene homolog" (FOS) and "Nucleoporin 54kDa" (NUP54) were proposed as the top three hub regulation-genes involved in adapting endurance high-pH stress; the protein-interactions of "EP300-HSPA8" and "HSPA4-NUP54" were detected as the most important biological interactions in response to the high-pH stress; and the HSP70 family genes might play essential roles in the adaptation of the high-pH stress environment in L. vannamei. These findings provide the first insight into the molecular and immune basis of L. vannamei in terms of high-pH environments, and the construction of a PPI network might improve our understanding in revealing the hub regulation-genes in response to abiotic stress in shrimp species and might be beneficial for further studies.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cyclic Nucleotide-Gated Cation Channels / genetics
  • Cyclic Nucleotide-Gated Cation Channels / immunology
  • Cyclic Nucleotide-Gated Cation Channels / metabolism
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Gene Expression Regulation
  • Gene Ontology
  • HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins / genetics
  • HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins / immunology
  • HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins / metabolism
  • Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
  • Patched-1 Receptor / genetics
  • Patched-1 Receptor / immunology
  • Patched-1 Receptor / metabolism
  • Penaeidae / genetics*
  • Penaeidae / immunology*
  • Penaeidae / metabolism
  • Protein Interaction Maps / genetics
  • Protein Interaction Maps / immunology
  • Sequence Analysis, RNA
  • Signal Transduction
  • Stress, Physiological / genetics
  • Stress, Physiological / immunology

Substances

  • Cyclic Nucleotide-Gated Cation Channels
  • HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins
  • Patched-1 Receptor

Grants and funding

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31602135, 31402287 to WH), the Guangdong Province Program (2013B091300020, 2014B030301064, 2015B020231007, 2016A020210062, 2016A030310112, 2017B030314052 to CH), and the Science & Technology Promoting Projects for Oceanic & Fishery in Guangdong Province (A201601A03 to CH). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.