Prawn lipocalin: characteristics and expressional pattern in subepidermal adipose tissue during reproductive molting cycle.

Mo-Ran Wang, Xiao-Jing Zhu, Jin-Shu Yang, Zhong-Min Dai, Khalid Mahmood, Fan Yang, Wei-Jun Yang

Institute of Cell Biology and Genetics, Zijingang Campus, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310058 PR China.

Comparative biochemistry and physiology. Part B, Biochemistry & molecular biology 2007 Jun

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In crustaceans, the fascinating processes of maturation, reproductive molting and carapace coloration are regulated by hydrophobic molecules. Interestingly, most of the molecules are ligands of lipocalin. To understand the role of lipocalin in the aforementioned processes at molecular level, we isolated a cDNA that belongs to the lipocalin family, from a central nervous system cDNA library of Macrobrachium rosenbergii. We monitored the spatial and temporal distributions of the mRNA by using Northern Blotting analysis. Our results demonstrated that this gene expresses abundantly in the subepidermal adipose tissue, while faintly in the hepatopancreas and central nervous system. However, no signal was detected in other tissues including muscle, gill and ovary. Its expression levels in subepidermal adipose tissue during various stages of maturation as well as through the whole molting cycle showed that prawn lipocalin is involved in sexual maturation, as the maximal level was observed just after molt.

Citation

Mo-Ran Wang, Xiao-Jing Zhu, Jin-Shu Yang, Zhong-Min Dai, Khalid Mahmood, Fan Yang, Wei-Jun Yang. Prawn lipocalin: characteristics and expressional pattern in subepidermal adipose tissue during reproductive molting cycle. Comparative biochemistry and physiology. Part B, Biochemistry & molecular biology. 2007 Jun;147(2):222-9