Song Feibiao, Zheng Da, Yang Zihang, Shi Liping, Lu Xingyu, Yao Fucheng, Liang Huan, Wang Lei, Wang Xinxin, Chen Huapeng, Sun Junlong, Luo Jian
State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan Aquaculture Breeding Engineering Research Center, Hainan Academician Team Innovation Center, Sanya Nanfan Research Institute of Hainan University, College of Marine Sciences, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China.
State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan Aquaculture Breeding Engineering Research Center, Hainan Academician Team Innovation Center, Sanya Nanfan Research Institute of Hainan University, College of Marine Sciences, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China.
Comp Biochem Physiol Part D Genomics Proteomics. 2023 Dec;48:101123. doi: 10.1016/j.cbd.2023.101123. Epub 2023 Aug 17.
Plectropomus leopardus is a valuable marine fish whose skin color is strongly affected by the background color. However, the influence of the visual sense on the skin color variation of P. leopardus remains unknown. In the present study, transcriptome analysis was used to examine the visual response mechanism under different background colors. Paraffin sections of the eyes showed that the background color caused morphological changes in the pigment cells (PCs) and outer nuclear layer (ONL) and the darkening of the iris color. The transcriptome analysis results indicated that the gene expressions in the eyes of P. leopardus were significantly different for different background colors. We identified 4845, 3069, 5874, and 6309 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the pairwise comparisons of white vs. initial, blue vs. initial, red vs. initial, and black vs. initial groups, respectively. Some hub genes and key pathways regulating the adaptive mechanism of P. leopardus's eyes to the background color were identified, i.e., the JAK-STAT, mTOR, and Ras signaling pathways, and the ndufb7, slc6a13, and novel.3553 gene. This adaptation was achieved through the synthesis of stress proteins and energy balance supply mediated by hub genes and key pathways. In addition, the phenylalanine metabolism, tyrosine metabolism, and actin cytoskeleton-related processes or pathways and genes were responsible for iris and skin color adaptation. In summary, we inferred that stress protein synthesis, phenylalanine metabolism, and energy homeostasis were critical stress pathways for P. leopardus to adapt its skin color to the environment. These new findings indicate that the P. leopardus skin color variation may have been caused by the environmental adaption of the eyes. The results provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the skin color adaptation of P. leopardus.
豹纹鳃棘鲈是一种珍贵的海洋鱼类，其肤色受背景颜色的影响很大。然而，视觉对豹纹鳃棘鲈肤色变化的影响尚不清楚。在本研究中，采用转录组分析来检测不同背景颜色下的视觉反应机制。眼睛的石蜡切片显示，背景颜色导致色素细胞（PCs）和外核层（ONL）的形态变化以及虹膜颜色变深。转录组分析结果表明，不同背景颜色下豹纹鳃棘鲈眼睛中的基因表达存在显著差异。在白色与初始、蓝色与初始、红色与初始、黑色与初始组的两两比较中，我们分别鉴定出4845、3069、5874和6309个差异表达基因（DEGs）。确定了一些调控豹纹鳃棘鲈眼睛对背景颜色适应机制的枢纽基因和关键通路，即JAK-STAT、mTOR和Ras信号通路，以及ndufb7、slc6a13和novel.3553基因。这种适应是通过枢纽基因和关键通路介导的应激蛋白合成和能量平衡供应来实现的。此外，苯丙氨酸代谢、酪氨酸代谢以及与肌动蛋白细胞骨架相关的过程或通路和基因负责虹膜和肤色的适应。总之，我们推断应激蛋白合成、苯丙氨酸代谢和能量稳态是豹纹鳃棘鲈使其肤色适应环境的关键应激通路。这些新发现表明，豹纹鳃棘鲈的肤色变化可能是由眼睛的环境适应性引起的。研究结果为豹纹鳃棘鲈肤色适应的分子机制提供了新的见解。
