Comparative profiling of ovarian and testicular piRNAs in the mud crab Scylla paramamosain

Khor Waiho; Hanafiah Fazhan; Yin Zhang; Shengkang Li; Yueling Zhang; Huaiping Zheng; Mhd Ikhwanuddin; Hongyu Ma

doi:10.1016/j.ygeno.2019.02.012

Comparative profiling of ovarian and testicular piRNAs in the mud crab Scylla paramamosain

Genomics. 2020 Jan;112(1):323-331. doi: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2019.02.012. Epub 2019 Feb 23.

Authors

Khor Waiho¹, Hanafiah Fazhan², Yin Zhang², Shengkang Li², Yueling Zhang², Huaiping Zheng², Mhd Ikhwanuddin³, Hongyu Ma⁴

Affiliations

¹ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, China; STU-UMT Joint Shellfish Research Laboratory, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, China; Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266071, China.
² Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, China; STU-UMT Joint Shellfish Research Laboratory, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, China.
³ STU-UMT Joint Shellfish Research Laboratory, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, China; Institute of Tropical Aquaculture, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Terengganu 21030, Malaysia.. Electronic address: ikhwanuddin@umt.edu.my.
⁴ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Biotechnology, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, China; STU-UMT Joint Shellfish Research Laboratory, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, China; Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266071, China. Electronic address: mahy@stu.edu.cn.

PMID: 30807818
DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2019.02.012

Abstract

PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are abundantly found in germ cells and involved in gametogenesis and gonadal development. Information on the regulatory roles of piRNAs in crustacean reproduction, however, is scarce. Thus, we identified gonadal piRNAs of mud crab Scylla paramamosain. Of the 115,491 novel piRNAs, 596 were differentially expressed. Subsequently, 389,887 potential piRNA-target genes were predicted. The expression of 4 piRNAs and 9 genes with high piRNA interactions were validated with the inclusion of additional immature specimens, including LRP2 that is involved in growth and reproduction, MDN1 in ribosome biogenesis pathway and gametogenesis, and PRKDC, a DNA repair gene involved in gonadal differentiation and maturation. KEGG analysis further revealed the involvement of predicted piRNA target genes in gametogenesis- and reproduction-related pathways. Our findings provide baseline information of mud crab piRNAs and their differential expression between testes and ovaries suggests that piRNAs play an essential role in regulating gametogenesis and gonadal development.

Keywords: Comparative reproduction; Gametogenesis; piRNA.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Brachyura / genetics*
Brachyura / metabolism
Female
Gametogenesis / genetics
Gene Ontology
Male
Ovary / metabolism
RNA, Small Interfering / metabolism*
Reproduction / genetics
Testis / metabolism

Substances

RNA, Small Interfering