Identification and Characterization of the Pyruvate Dehydrogenase E1 Gene in the Oriental River Prawn, .

Pyruvate dehydrogenase E1 () is thought to play essential roles in energy metabolism, and a previous study suggested that it also has potential regulatory roles in male sexual development in the oriental river prawn, . In this study, we used rapid amplification of cDNA ends, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), hybridization, western blotting, RNA interference (RNAi), and histological analyses to assess the potential functions of in the sexual development of male . The full cDNA sequence of was 1,614 base pairs long, including a 1,077 base pair open reading frame that encodes 358 amino acids. qPCR analysis revealed the regulatory functions of in male sexual development in . and in the metamorphosis process. hybridization and western blot results indicated that was involved in testis development, and RNAi analysis showed that positively regulated the expression of insulin-like androgenic gland factor in . Compared with the cell types in the testes of control prawns, histological analysis showed that the number of sperm was dramatically lower after test subjects were injected with dsRNA, whereas the numbers of spermatogonia and spermatocytes were higher. Sperm constituted only 1% of cells at 14 days after injection in the RNAi group. This indicated that knockdown of the expression of delayed testis development. Thus, has positive effects on male sexual development in . . This study highlights the functions of P in . and its essential roles in the regulation of testis development.