Key Laboratory of Mariculture, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China.
Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266237, China.
Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Jun 6;22(11):6120. doi: 10.3390/ijms22116120.
Porphyrins are a widespread group of pigments in nature which are believed to contribute to shell colors in mollusks. Previous studies have provided candidate genes for porphyrin shell coloration, however, the linkage analysis between functional genes and porphyrin pigmentation remains unclear in mollusks. RNA interference is a powerful molecular tool for analyzing the loss of functions of genes in vivo and alter gene expression. In this study, we used unicellular alga and as vectors to feed oysters with strain HT115 engineered to express double-stranded RNAs targeting specific genes involved in porphyrin synthesis. A strain of with orange shell was used to target key haem pathway genes expression using the aforementioned approach. We show here that feeding the oysters with , containing dsRNA targeting pigmentation genes, can cause changes in the color of the newly deposited shell. For example, the RNAi knockdown of and resulted in the loss of uroporphyrin pigmentation from the shell due to the accumulation of the pigment in the oyster's mantle. The study probed the crucial role of ALAS and PBGD genes potential functions of uroporphyrin production and shell color pigmentation in .
卟啉是一种广泛存在于自然界中的色素，被认为对软体动物的壳色有贡献。以前的研究已经为卟啉壳色提供了候选基因，然而，在软体动物中，功能基因与卟啉色素沉着之间的连锁分析仍不清楚。RNA 干扰是一种强大的分子工具，可用于分析体内基因的功能丧失和改变基因表达。在本研究中，我们使用单细胞藻类和作为载体，用工程菌 HT115 喂养牡蛎，该菌可表达针对参与卟啉合成的特定基因的双链 RNA。使用上述方法，我们用橙色壳的菌株来靶向关键血红素途径基因的表达。我们在这里表明，用含有针对色素沉着基因的 dsRNA 的，可导致新沉积壳颜色的变化。例如，和的 RNAi 敲低导致由于色素在牡蛎套膜中的积累而导致壳中尿卟啉色素沉着的丧失。该研究探究了 ALAS 和 PBGD 基因在产生尿卟啉和壳色色素沉着中的关键作用。
