Abstract:In order to understand the regulatory mechanism of ovarian development in Exopalaemon carinicauda, we used RACE (Rapid amplification of cDNA ends) technology to clone the translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP) gene. The full-length cDNA of TCTP gene in E. carinicauda (EcTCTP) is 732 bp long with an intact open reading frame of 507 bp encoding a polypeptide of 168 amino acids. Six kinds of functional sites were identified in EcTCTP, including one N-glycosylation site, three protein kinase C phosphorylation sites, six casein kinase Ⅱ phosphorylation sites, three N-myristoylation sites, TCTP domain signature 1, and TCTP domain signature 2. Multiple alignment analysis and phylogenetic tree revealed that EcTCTP has the highest similarity to TCTP from Eriocheir sinensis. The results demonstrated that the cysteine (Cys) residue at the C terminal is highly conserved in all the animals, except the crustaceans. The lack of Cys residue might affect the oxidation resistance and the formation of TCTP dimers in crustaceans. The expression profile of 4 kinds of autophagy-related genes during the ovarian development period showed that: (1) EcTCTP gene in the hepatopancreas from proliferative stage to postpartum recovery period decreased. (2) Expression of EcTCTP gene in the ovary was the highest during the minor growth phase. Furthermore, the expression profile of Hif-1α, Beclin1, and Bcl-2 in hepatopancreas showed a similar trend, that is, high expression from proliferative period to minor growth phase, the lowest expression during the major growth phase with an increase during the mature period. The expression level of the gene Hif-1 in the ovary was similar to that of the gene vitellogenin in the ovary, which increased from the proliferative phase to the postpartum recovery period. The expression level of the gene Beclin1 in the ovarian cells increased from the proliferative stage to the major growth phase, and reached the highest level during the major growth phase, which was consistent with the synthesis of endogenous vitellogenin during the late development stage in prawn. The expression of the gene Bcl-2 in the ovary was the lowest during the major growth phase. The results illustrated that the autophagy-related genes might function together in the ovarian development of E. carinicauda by regulating autophagy during the synthesis of vitellogenin.
