Cao Ya-Qin, Zhao Ya-Jie, Qi Hui-Ying, Huang Jin-Fei, Zhu Fu-Cheng, Wang Wen-Ping, Deng Dao-Gui
School of Life Science, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei 235000, Anhui, China.
Curr Zool. 2023 Jun 2;70(4):440-452. doi: 10.1093/cz/zoad022. eCollection 2024 Aug.
High fish predation pressure can trigger "induced defense" in species, resulting in phenotypic plasticity in morphology, behavior, or life-history traits. The molecular mechanisms of defense morphogenesis (e.g., the tail spine and helmet) in remain unclear. In the present study, the tail spine, helmet, and body of under fish and non-fish kairomones conditions were collected for transcriptome analysis. A total of 24 candidate genes related to the morphological defense of were identified, including 2 trypsin, one cuticle protein, 1 C1qDC protein, and 2 ferritin genes. The function of the gene ( cuticle protein gene) in relation to tail spine morphology was assessed using RNA interference (RNAi). Compared with the EGFP (Enhanced green fluorescent protein) treatment, after RNAi, the expression levels of the gene ( cuticle protein gene) showed a significant decrease. Correspondingly, the tail spines of the offspring produced by after RNAi of the gene appeared curved during the experiment. In whole-mount in situ hybridization, a clear signal site was detected on the tail spine of before RNAi which disappeared after RNAi. Our results suggest that the gene may play an important role in tail spine formation of , and will provide a theoretical basis for studying the molecular mechanisms of the morphological plasticity in cladocera in the future.
高鱼类捕食压力可触发物种的“诱导防御”，导致形态、行为或生活史特征出现表型可塑性。水蚤防御形态发生（如尾刺和头盔）的分子机制仍不清楚。在本研究中，收集了处于鱼类和非鱼类信息素条件下的水蚤的尾刺、头盔和身体用于转录组分析。共鉴定出24个与水蚤形态防御相关的候选基因，包括2个胰蛋白酶、1个表皮蛋白、1个C1qDC蛋白和2个铁蛋白基因。使用RNA干扰（RNAi）评估了该基因（表皮蛋白基因）与尾刺形态的关系。与增强绿色荧光蛋白（EGFP）处理相比，RNAi后，该基因（表皮蛋白基因）的表达水平显著下降。相应地，该基因RNAi后的水蚤所产后代的尾刺在实验过程中出现弯曲。在全胚胎原位杂交中，RNAi前在水蚤尾刺上检测到一个清晰的信号位点，RNAi后该信号位点消失。我们的结果表明，该基因可能在水蚤尾刺形成中起重要作用，并将为未来研究枝角类形态可塑性的分子机制提供理论基础。
