Selenoprotein M gene expression, peroxidases activity and hydrogen peroxide concentration are differentially regulated in gill and hepatopancreas of the white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei during hypoxia and reoxygenation.

In many organisms, episodes of low O2 concentration (hypoxia) and the subsequent rise of O2 concentration (reoxygenation) result in the accumulation of reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress. Selenoprotein M (SelM), is a selenocysteine containing protein with redox activity involved in the antioxidant response. It was previously shown that in the white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei, the silencing of SelM by RNAi decreased peroxidase activity in gill. In this work, we report the structure of the SelM gene (LvSelM) and its relative expression in hepatopancreas and gill after 24h of hypoxia followed by 1h of reoxygenation. The gene is composed by four exons interrupted by tree introns. In gills and hepatopancreas, SelM expression increased after 24h of hypoxia followed by 1h of reoxygenation, while peroxidases activity diminished in hepatopancreas but increased in gills. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) concentration was higher in hepatopancreas in response to hypoxia for 6h and did not change after 24 of hypoxia followed by reoxygenation; conversely, no change was detected in gill. SelM appears to be a key enzyme in gill oxidative stress regulation, since the higher expression is associated with an increase in peroxidases activity while maintaining H2O2 concentration. In contrast, in hepatopancreas there is a higher expression after hypoxia and reoxygenation for 24h, but peroxidases activity was lower and the change in H2O2 occurred after 6h of hypoxia and this level was maintained during reoxygenation.

Alternative splicing generates two lactate dehydrogenase subunits differentially expressed during hypoxia via HIF-1 in the shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei.

Metabolic adjustment to low oxygen exposure (hypoxia) in the white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei implies a shift to anaerobic metabolism. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) is a key enzyme of the anaerobic metabolism described in most organisms. The structure and expression of the LDH gene, as well as the LDH isoenzymes in marine crustacean are not well defined. In the present study we characterized a gene that codes for two LDH subunits, measured their expression and detected the isoenzymes in tissues from white shrimp. We also silenced the transcriptional activator hypoxia inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) to elucidate the regulation of LDH in tissues from white shrimp in response to hypoxia. The complete LDH gene coding sequence is 7571 bp (LvanLDH) and encodes two different LDH subunits (LDHvan-1 and LDHvan-2) generated by alternative splicing and composed of 332 amino acids with conserved domains important for the function and regulation. Phylogenetic analysis shows that LvanLDH -1 and -2 are closer to the invertebrate counterparts. The LDHvan-1 transcript increased 2.5-fold after hypoxia in gills but not in hepatopancreas, while the LDHvan-2 transcript decreased 14-fold in muscle but not in gills and hepatopancreas. Three bands with LDH activity of ∼60­90 kDa were detected in hepatopancreas, while one band of ∼140 kDa was detected in gills and muscle. The silencing of HIF-1 blocked the increase of LDH mRNA and activity produced by hypoxia in gills. These results demonstrate a single gene for LDH (LvanLDH) that by alternative splicing generates two different LDH subunits (LDHvan-1 and LDHvan-2) that are expressed in a tissue-specific manner during hypoxia via the HIF-1 pathway.

Cytosolic manganese superoxide dismutase genes from the white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei are differentially expressed in response to lipopolysaccharides, white spot virus and during ontogeny.

Manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) is an antioxidant enzyme usually located in mitochondria. There are only a few examples of cytosolic MnSOD (cMnSOD). In the shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei, we have previously characterized three cMnSOD cDNAs and their differential tissue-specific expression. To obtain insights about their genomic organization, we characterized the three corresponding cMnSOD genes, named them cMnsod1, cMnsod2, and cMnsod3 and studied their specific expression during ontogeny, response to lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and white spot virus infection (WSSV) in hemocytes from shrimp. The first two genes contain five introns flanked by canonical 5'-GT-AG-3' intron splice-site junctions, while the third one is intron-less. We analyzed 995 nucleotides upstream cMnsod2, but no classical promoter sequences were found. The deduced products of the three cMnSOD genes differ in two amino acids and there are four silent changes. cMnsod3 expression is modulated by WSSV and cMnsod2 by LPS. cMnsod2 is expressed from eggs to post larval stage during ontogeny. This is the first report of crustacean cMnSOD multigenes that are differently induced during the defense response and ontogeny.

Hypoxia, reoxygenation and cytosolic manganese superoxide dismutase (cMnSOD) silencing in Litopenaeus vannamei: effects on cMnSOD transcripts, superoxide dismutase activity and superoxide anion production capacity.

The effects of silencing the mRNA of cytosolic manganese superoxide dismutase (cMnSOD), an enzyme involved in the antioxidant defense, were analyzed in Whiteleg shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei adults. Shrimp were intramuscularly injected with long dsRNAs corresponding to the N-terminal portion of the cMnSOD and held under normoxic conditions for 24h. Another group of shrimp was exposed to hypoxia for 6h followed by reoxygenation for 1h. Shrimp injected with long dsRNAs had lower cMnSOD transcripts in gills and hepatopancreas. In the cMnSOD silenced shrimp, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity decreased in gills but not in hepatopancreas. Shrimp subjected to hypoxia had lower cMnSOD transcripts and SOD activity in gills and hepatopancreas; the production of superoxide anion (O2*-) by hemocytes was also lower in this group. Reoxygenation reverted the effect of hypoxia increasing the levels of cMnSOD transcripts, SOD activity and the production of O2*-. These results suggest that cMnSOD contributes significantly to the SOD activity in gills and hepatopancreas and indicate its importance in the redox system regulation for L. vannamei.

Expression and silencing of Selenoprotein M (SelM) from the white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei: effect on peroxidase activity and hydrogen peroxide concentration in gills and hepatopancreas.

Selenoprotein M (SelM), is a selenocysteine containing protein with redox activity involved in the antioxidant response. In the white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei, SelM expression in gills is induced transiently during viral infection by the White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV). We report that SelM expression was detected in healthy shrimp L. vannamei in gills, muscle, hepatopancreas and pleopods, with more abundance in the hepatopancreas and gills. SelM transcripts were silenced by intramuscular injection with double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs). In gills and hepatopancreas, all shrimp injected with long dsRNAs had lower SelM transcripts levels compared with controls. Peroxidase activity and hydrogen peroxide concentration were measured to detect effects on antioxidants. Peroxidase activity decreased upon silencing of SelM in gills, but no significant effect was detected in hepatopancreas. In contrast, total cell hydrogen peroxide concentration did not change in gills and hepatopancreas of silenced shrimp. Non-heme peroxidases are new players in the oxidative stress system that need to be addressed in detail, as well as selenium as a critical micronutrient for the antioxidant and innate immune systems in crustaceans.

Transcriptome analysis of gills from the white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei infected with White Spot Syndrome Virus.

We report the analysis of 872 cDNA clones from a WSSV-infected white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei gill cDNA library. Comparison against the GenBank protein and nucleotide sequences identified 87% (E < or = 10(-2)) as previously known genes, while 13% are novel sequences. The 601 ESTs (87%) represent transcripts of 276 genes. These genes were categorized into 12 groups according to their functions. The more abundant categories were (1) ribosomal proteins (21%), (2) WSSV transcripts and sequences without homology to proteins deposited in the non-redundant database (15%), (3) hypothetical proteins (12%) which include genes never described in shrimp and (4) metabolism related proteins (9%). We also found genes involved in stress and immune response; and only one involved in ion transport. Full-length sequences of keratinocyte associated protein 2 (KCP2), selenoprotein M (SelM), chicadae, prohibitin and oncoprotein nm23 are reported. Their mRNAs steady state levels in addition to ferritin, changed at different times post-WSSV infection as estimated by RT-PCR. These results suggest that WSSV alters gene expression in gills and has led to the identification of novel white shrimp specific genes.

Starvation and diet composition affect mRNA levels of the high density-lipoprotein-beta glucan binding protein in the shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei.

A high density lipoprotein-beta glucan binding protein (HDL-BGBP) is synthesized in the hepatopancreas of the white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei and secreted to the hemolymph. Recently, we reported the HDL-BGBP full length cDNA sequence and found that the predicted polypeptide is larger than the mature protein and also, that it contains a long 5'- and 3'-UTRs that may be involved in transcript level regulation. To test whether starvation and feeding may play a role in regulating HDL-BGBP mRNA levels, two different stimuli were evaluated: starvation and composition of diets. After 24 h, the steady state HDL-BGBP mRNA levels of starved shrimp decreased, suggesting that synthesis of the lipoprotein is less required in the absence of food. When shrimp were fed with diets containing different concentrations of protein and lipids, changes in HDL-BGBP mRNA levels were also detected. Shrimp fed the lower concentration of protein and lipid feed accumulated higher levels of HDL-BGBP mRNA. These results indicate that feeding influences HDL-BGBP transcript levels in the hepatopancreas.

Sequence and conservation of a rRNA and tRNAVal mitochondrial gene fragment from Penaeus californiensis and comparison with Penaeus vannamei and Penaeus stylirostris.

Penaeus californiensis is an important species for shrimp fisheries in the Pacific Ocean and has recently been described as a potential cultured species, mainly through the winter season in subtropical regions. A fragment of the mitochondrial 12S rRNA-tRNAVal-16S rRNA genes from P. californiensis was sequenced and compared with the corresponding regions from Penaeus vannamei and Penaeus stylirostris. Purified mitochondrial DNA was used for polymerase chain reaction amplification with primers for 12S and 16S rRNA genes. A 1379 +/- 1-bp fragment was obtained, including 90% 16S rRNA, tRNAVal, and a portion of 12S rRNA, cloned, and sequenced. Genetic distances were calculated according to the Kimura 2-parameter distance model, and maximum-likelihood analysis was applied with 1000 bootstrap replications. Sequence identity of P. californiensis with both P. vannamei and P. stylirostris was 0.88, while for P. vannamei and P. stylirostris the identity was 0.92. Maximum-likelihood analysis grouped P. vannamei and P. stylirostris separately from P. californiensis.