TY - JOUR
T1 - Post-Embryonic Transcriptomes of the Prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii
T2 - Multigenic Succession through Metamorphosis
AU - Ventura, Tomer
AU - Manor, Rivka
AU - Aflalo, Eliahu D.
AU - Chalifa-Caspi, Vered
AU - Weil, Simy
AU - Sharabi, Omri
AU - Sagi, Amir
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was partially funded by Tiran Shipping LTD. This was done as part of granting a license to the company over a previous pending patent: Sagi et al. (PCT/IL2009/000127), owned by Ben-Gurion University (BGU). Part of the license agreement includes transfer of research funds to BGU but none of the authors are employed by the funding company nor have conflicts of interest regarding the data presented in the present manuscript. The information in this manuscript will be published with completed adherence to all PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.
PY - 2013/1/30
Y1 - 2013/1/30
N2 - Like many metazoans, the freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii begins its post-embryonic life with a set of morphologically distinct planktonic larval stages, followed by a benthic post-larval stage during which the maturing organism differs from the larvae both ecologically and physiologically. Understanding of the molecular basis underlying morphogenesis in crustaceans is limited to the observation that methyl farnesoate, the non-epoxidated form of the insect juvenile hormone, acts as the active crustacean juvenoid. Molt steroids were also linked to morphogenesis and several other molecular pathways, such as Hedgehog and Wnt, are known to underlie morphogenesis in all metazoans examined and, as such, are thought to do the same in crustaceans. Using next generation sequencing, we deep-sequenced the transcriptomes of several larval and post-larval stages. De novo assembly, followed by bioinformatics analysis, revealed that many novel transcripts are over-expressed in either larvae- or post-larvae-stage prawn, shedding light on the molecular basis underlying M. rosenbergii metamorphosis. Fast larval molting rates and periodic morphological changes were reflected in over-expression of transcripts annotated to the cell cycle, DNA replication and morphogenic pathways (i.e., Hedgehog and Wnt). Further characterization of transcripts assigned to morphogenic pathways by real-time RT-PCR reconfirmed their over-expression in larvae, albeit with a more complex expression pattern when examined in the individual developmental stages. The expression level of an orthologue of cytochrome P450, 15A1, known to epoxidize methyl farnesoate in insects, was increased in the late larval and early post-larval stages, in accordance with the role of methyl farnesoate in crustacean metamorphosis. This study exemplifies the applicability of a high-throughput sequencing approach for studying complex traits, including metamorphosis, providing new insight into this unexplored area of crustacean research.
AB - Like many metazoans, the freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii begins its post-embryonic life with a set of morphologically distinct planktonic larval stages, followed by a benthic post-larval stage during which the maturing organism differs from the larvae both ecologically and physiologically. Understanding of the molecular basis underlying morphogenesis in crustaceans is limited to the observation that methyl farnesoate, the non-epoxidated form of the insect juvenile hormone, acts as the active crustacean juvenoid. Molt steroids were also linked to morphogenesis and several other molecular pathways, such as Hedgehog and Wnt, are known to underlie morphogenesis in all metazoans examined and, as such, are thought to do the same in crustaceans. Using next generation sequencing, we deep-sequenced the transcriptomes of several larval and post-larval stages. De novo assembly, followed by bioinformatics analysis, revealed that many novel transcripts are over-expressed in either larvae- or post-larvae-stage prawn, shedding light on the molecular basis underlying M. rosenbergii metamorphosis. Fast larval molting rates and periodic morphological changes were reflected in over-expression of transcripts annotated to the cell cycle, DNA replication and morphogenic pathways (i.e., Hedgehog and Wnt). Further characterization of transcripts assigned to morphogenic pathways by real-time RT-PCR reconfirmed their over-expression in larvae, albeit with a more complex expression pattern when examined in the individual developmental stages. The expression level of an orthologue of cytochrome P450, 15A1, known to epoxidize methyl farnesoate in insects, was increased in the late larval and early post-larval stages, in accordance with the role of methyl farnesoate in crustacean metamorphosis. This study exemplifies the applicability of a high-throughput sequencing approach for studying complex traits, including metamorphosis, providing new insight into this unexplored area of crustacean research.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84872855865&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0055322
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0055322
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84872855865
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 8
JO - PLoS ONE
JF - PLoS ONE
IS - 1
M1 - e55322
ER -