Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. Part B, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

Ion transport peptide (ITP), a superfamily of arthropod neuropeptides, serves a crucial role in regulating various physiological processes such as diuresis, ecdysis behavior, and wing expansion. However, the molecular characteristics, expression profile, and role of ITP in Sogatella furcifera are poorly understood. To elucidate the characteristics and biological function of ITP in S. furcifera, we employed reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and RNA interference (RNAi) methods. The identified SfITP gene encodes 117 amino acids...

The present study explores growth potential of two medicinal herbs, Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha or 'A') and Asparagus racemosus (Shatavari or 'S') after their dietary inclusion in fish, Channa punctatus (13.5 ± 2 g; 11.5 ± 1 cm). Three hundred well acclimatized fishes were distributed into 10 groups- C (Control), S1, S2, S3, A1, A2, A3, AS1, AS2, and AS3, each having 10 specimens. Fish were fed with experimental diet, individually and in combination for a 60 days of feeding trial...

Salinity and temperature influence growth, survival, and reproduction of crustacean species such as Penaeus vannamei where Na + /K+ -ATPase plays a key role in maintaining osmotic homeostasis in different salinity conditions. This ability is suggested to be mediated by other proteins including neuropeptides such as the crustacean hyperglycemic hormones (CHHs), and heat shock proteins (HSPs). The mRNA expression of Na+ /K+ -ATPase, HSP60, HSP70, CHH-A, and CHH-B1, was analyzed by qPCR in shrimp acclimated to different salinities (10, 26, and 40 PSU) and temperature conditions (20, 23, 26, 29, and 32 °C) to evaluate their uses as molecular stress biomarkers...

Bivalves are among the marine organisms most influenced by climate change. Despite the flat oyster's Ostrea edulis high economic value, its culture is developed on a very small scale, since this species possesses a strong susceptibility to abiotic stressors. Due to climate change, temperature is one of the most critical environmental parameters for the welfare of the Mediterranean basin's marine inhabitants. The present study's purpose was to investigate the physiological performance of the Mediterranean's native O...

Albinism is a widespread departure from a typical body colouration due to altered melanin production. The Wels catfish (Silurus glanis) is among the largest freshwater fish species in the world, and albino individuals occur both in the wild and in aquaculture. Here, we performed transcriptome-wide analysis of albino and normally pigmented S. glanis using four tissues (skin, dorsal fin, whole eye and liver) to identify genes associated with albinism by exploring patterns of differential expression (DE) and differential alternative splicing (DAS)...

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are a key output of the skeletal muscle mitochondrial information processing system both at rest and during exercise. In skeletal muscle, mitochondrial ROS release depends on multiple factors; however, fiber-type specific differences remain ambiguous in part owing to the use of mitochondria from mammalian muscle that consist of mixed fibers. To elucidate fiber-type specific differences, we used mitochondria isolated from rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) red and white skeletal muscles that consist of spatially distinct essentially pure red and white fibers...

Ecdysone-induced protein 93 (E93) is a metamorphic determinant involved in crosstalk between 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) and juvenile hormone (JH) during the insect molting process. The present study identified the E93 gene from the swimming crab, P. trituberculatus, and found it was widely distributed in adult tissues. PtE93 mRNA levels in Y-organ and epidermis fluctuated during the molt cycle, suggesting its involvement in juvenile molting. In vitro and in vivo treatments with 20E led to an induction of PtE93 expression in Y-organ and epidermis, while we found the opposite effect for methyl farnesoate (MF) treatments, a crustacean equivalent of insect JH...

STAT (signal transducer and activator of the transcription) proteins, are a group of highly conserved transcription factors and fundamental components of the JAK-STAT signaling pathway. They play crucial roles in a variety of biological processes, such as immunity, proliferation, differentiation, and growth. However, little information is known regarding their role in gonad development and sex determination in mollusks. In this study, we identified 3 STAT genes in Pacific Oyster Crassostrea gigas. Phylogenetic analysis showed that STATs from mollusks were highly conserved, and most of them had four identical motif regions, except for the STAT1 and STAT3 predicted sequences from Crassostrea hongkongensis...

The Japanese mitten crab Eriocheir japonica inhabits rivers throughout Japan and is being cultivated for food. To conduct aquaculture efficiently, it is crucial to comprehend the physiological functions of the target organisms. However, there is a lack of fundamental information on Japanese mitten crabs. In this study, hydrolases were extracted from the midgut glands of Japanese mitten crabs and their metabolic activities were analyzed. An enzyme with hydrolytic activity was discovered within the cytosol of the midgut gland...

Bscl2 plays a role in lipid metabolism of mammals, however its role in teleost fish remains unclear. Using the grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) as a model, the bscl2 gene was isolated from the brain and characterized. Thereafter, the tissue distribution of the gene was examined, before expression was analyzed as a function of fasting, refeeding, oral glucose administration and overfeeding. In addition, bscl2 mRNA levels were evaluated in grass carp primary hepatocytes treated with glucagon, insulin, oleic acid, and glucose...

Sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus displays the typical circadian rhythms. This present study investigated the molecular regulation of clock genes, as well as monoamines and melatonin, in multiple tissues of A. japonicus, responding to the photoperiod. In order to determine their pivotal role in circadian rhythms, the crucial clock genes, namely AjClock, AjArnt1, AjCry1, and AjTimeless, were identified and a comprehensive analysis of their expressions across various tissues in adult A. japonicus was conducted, revealing the potential existence of central and peripheral oscillators...

Although the benefits of oleic acid (OA) have been established in mammals, its effects on fish remain understudied. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant potential of OA in the liver, intestine, and muscle of European sea bass juveniles fed diets containing different lipid levels. For that purpose, six diets with 16 or 22% lipids and 0, 1, and 2% OA were formulated and triplicate groups of European sea bass juveniles (21.4 g) were fed with these experimental diets for 9 weeks. Increasing dietary lipid levels or OA supplementation did not affect antioxidant enzyme activity in the liver and muscle...

The Apolipophorin-III (apoLp-III) is reported as an essential protein element in lipids transport and incorporation in lepidopterans. Structurally, apoLp-III has an α-helix bundle structure composed of five α-helices. Interestingly, classic studies proposed a structural switch triggered by its interaction with lipids, where the α-helix bundle opens. Currently, the study of the apoLp-III has been limited to insects, with no homologs identified in other arthropods. By implementing a structure-based search with the Phyre2 algorithm surveying the shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei's transcriptome, we identified a putative apoLp-III in this farmed penaeid (LvApoLp-III)...

Hsp90s are molecular chaperones that enhance fish tolerance to high-temperature stress. However, the function of Hsp90s in Seriola aureovittata (yellowtail kingfish) under high-temperature stress remains largely unknown. Here, two Hsp90 isoforms were identified in S. aureovittata by bioinformatics analysis: SaHsp90α and SaHsp90β. The coding sequence of SaHsp90α was 2193-bp long and encoded a polypeptide of 730 amino acids; SaHsp90β was 2178-bp long and encoded a polypeptide of 725 amino acids...

Many invertebrate species possess the metabolic ability to synthesize long-chain ω3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) de novo. Due to their diverse effects on membrane architecture, neuroplasticity, growth and reproduction, PUFA have a high potential to positively influence the fitness of an organism. But how and when do these supposed advantages actually come into play? Other species, that are often closely related, pass natural selection without this special metabolic ability. The ω3-PUFA rich model organism Caenorhabditis elegans (Nematoda) and its mutant fat-1(wa9), lacking these PUFA, are a suitable test system...

Understanding the mechanisms of lipid transport and metabolism in fish is crucial to enhance dietary lipid utilization. Here, fatty acid translocase (CD36) gene was characterized in silver pomfret (Pampus argenteus). The open reading frame of silver pomfret cd36 gene was 1395 bp, encoding 464 amino acids. The silver pomfret CD36 protein contained typical transmembrane regions and N-glycosylation modification sites, and was localized to the cytomembrane. The cd36 gene was ubiquitously expressed in all tested tissues, with the highest expression observed in brain tissue...

In the field of shrimp aquaculture, the utilization of probiotics represents a promising avenue, due to the well-documented benefits conferred by these microorganisms. In the current study, a Bacillus subtilis strain, referred to as strain E, was isolated from the gastrointestinal tract of the shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei and subsequently identified via molecular methods and phylogeny. The probiotic potential of strain E was characterized, and its application as a feed shrimp additive was evaluated in a 45-day experiment...

The blood clam (Tegillarca granosa), a marine bivalve of ecological and economic significance, often encounters intermittent hypoxia in mudflats and aquatic environments. To study the response of blood clam foot to prolonged intermittent hypoxia, the clams were exposed to intermittent hypoxia conditions (0.5 mg/L dissolved oxygen, with a 12-h interval) for 31 days. Initially, transcriptomic analysis was performed, uncovering a total of 698 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), with 236 upregulated and 462 downregulated...

The red pepper (Capsicum annuum) has gained great attention recently because of its biological and pharmacological characteristics. The present approach aimed to evaluate the effects of C. annuum alcoholic extract (CAE) supplementation on Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) growth performance, physiological status, some metabolic, immune, and regulatory genes expression, and resistance against Streptococcus agalactiae infection. Fish (22.26 ± 0.19 g) were assigned to four treatments (five replicates, each with 10 fish replicate-1 ) and fed tested diets for 60 days...

The p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) is a multifunctional molecule that is involved in cellular response to various stressful stimuli. In the present study, the full-length cDNA sequence of p38 MAPK (Lcp38 MAPK) was identified from the large yellow croaker Larimichthys crocea, which encoded a polypeptide of 361 amino acid residues. The predicted Lcp38 MAPK protein contained a highly conserved Thr-Gly-Tyr (TGY) motif, a glutamate and aspartate (ED) site, a substrate binding site (Ala-Thr-Arg-Trp < ATRW>), and a serine/threonine kinase catalytic (S_TKc) domain characteristic of the MAPK family...