Molecular characterization of an adiponectin receptor homolog in the white leg shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei

Ah Ran Kim; Md Jobaidul Alam; Tae-Ho Yoon; Soo Rin Lee; Hyun Park; Doo-Nam Kim; Doo-Hae An; Jae-Bong Lee; Chung Il Lee; Hyun-Woo Kim

doi:10.7717/peerj.2221

Molecular characterization of an adiponectin receptor homolog in the white leg shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei

PeerJ. 2016 Jul 14:4:e2221. doi: 10.7717/peerj.2221. eCollection 2016.

Authors

Ah Ran Kim¹, Md Jobaidul Alam², Tae-Ho Yoon¹, Soo Rin Lee¹, Hyun Park³, Doo-Nam Kim⁴, Doo-Hae An⁴, Jae-Bong Lee⁴, Chung Il Lee⁵, Hyun-Woo Kim⁶

Affiliations

¹ Interdiciplinary Program of Biomedical Engineering, Pukyong National University , Busan , South Korea.
² Department of Marine Biology, Pukyong National University , Busan , South Korea.
³ Korea Polar Research Institute, Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute , Incheon , Republic of Korea.
⁴ Distant-Water Fisheries Resources Research Division, National Institute of Fisheries Science , Busan , Republic of Korea.
⁵ Department of Marine Bioscience, Gangneung-Wonju National University , Gangneung , Republic of Korea.
⁶ Interdiciplinary Program of Biomedical Engineering, Pukyong National University, Busan, South Korea; Department of Marine Biology, Pukyong National University, Busan, South Korea.

Abstract

Adiponectin (AdipoQ) and its receptors (AdipoRs) are strongly related to growth and development of skeletal muscle, as well as glucose and lipid metabolism in vertebrates. Herein we report the identification of the first full-length cDNA encoding an AdipoR homolog (Liv-AdipoR) from the decapod crustacean Litopenaeus vannamei using a combination of next generation sequencing (NGS) technology and bioinformatics analysis. The full-length Liv-AdipoR (1,245 bp) encoded a protein that exhibited the canonical seven transmembrane domains (7TMs) and the inversed topology that characterize members of the progestin and adipoQ receptor (PAQR) family. Based on the obtained sequence information, only a single orthologous AdipoR gene appears to exist in arthropods, whereas two paralogs, AdipoR1 and AdipoR2, have evolved in vertebrates. Transcriptional analysis suggested that the single Liv-AdipoR gene appears to serve the functions of two mammalian AdipoRs. At 72 h after injection of 50 pmol Liv-AdipoR dsRNA (340 bp) into L. vannamei thoracic muscle and deep abdominal muscle, transcription levels of Liv-AdipoR decreased by 93% and 97%, respectively. This confirmed optimal conditions for RNAi of Liv-AdipoR. Knockdown of Liv-AdipoR resulted in significant changes in the plasma levels of ammonia, 3-methylhistine, and ornithine, but not plasma glucose, suggesting that that Liv-AdipoR is important for maintaining muscle fibers. The chronic effect of Liv-AdipoR dsRNA injection was increased mortality. Transcriptomic analysis showed that 804 contigs were upregulated and 212 contigs were downregulated by the knockdown of Liv-AdipoR in deep abdominal muscle. The significantly upregulated genes were categorized as four main functional groups: RNA-editing and transcriptional regulators, molecular chaperones, metabolic regulators, and channel proteins.

Keywords: Adiponectin receptor; Decapod crustacean; GPCR; Metabolism; RNAi.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Fisheries Science (R2016028). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.