Cloning of a trehalose-6-phosphate synthase gene from Exopalaemon carinicauda and its expression response to bacteria challenge.

ABSTRACT

Trehalose, a nonreducing disaccharide, is present in a wide variety of organisms and plays a key role in many organisms under different stress conditions. In the study, the full-length cDNA sequence encoding trehalose-6-phosphate synthase (EcTPS) was obtained from Exopalaemon carinicauda. The complete nucleotide sequence of EcTPS contained a 2532 bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding a putative protein of 843 amino acids. The domain architecture of the deduced EcTPS contained a glycol_transf_20 domain and a trehalose_PPase domain. EcTPS mRNA was predominantly expressed in the hepatopancreas. The expression of EcTPS in the prawns challenged with Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Aeromonas hydrophila changed in a time-dependent manner. The function of EcTPS was also studied by double-strand RNA interference. The results showed that the knock-down of EcTPS increased the mortality of the Vibrio-challenged group and Aeromonas-challenged group compared with the control group. The present study provides some new insight into the immune function of the trehalose-6-phosphate synthase in prawns.