RNA Interference Analysis of the Functions of Cyclin B in Male Reproductive Development of the Oriental River Prawn ().

() plays essential roles in cell proliferation and promotes gonad development in many crustaceans. The goal of this study was to investigate the regulatory roles of this gene in the reproductive development of male oriental river prawns (). A phylo-genetic tree analysis revealed that the protein sequence of - was most closely related to those of freshwater prawns, whereas the evolutionary distance from crabs was much longer. A quantitative PCR analysis showed that the expression of - was highest in the gonad of both male and female prawns compared to that in other tissues ( < 0.05), indicating that this gene may play essential roles in the regulation of both testis and ovary development in . In males, - expression in the testis and androgenic gland was higher during the reproductive season than during the non-reproductive season ( < 0.05), implying that plays essential roles in the reproductive development of male . An RNA interference analysis revealed that the expression decreased as the expression decreased, and that few sperm were detected 14 days after the treatment, indicating that positively affects testis development in . The results of this study highlight the functions of in . , and they can be applied to studies of male reproductive development in other crustacean species.