Abstract
The Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) is an important aquatic economic species in China, which is sensitive to many toxicants that are likely to occur in the environment and is usually used as the bio-indicator of environmental pollution. As a common contaminant and heavy metal, lead (Pb) easily causes potentially irreversible toxic effects on aquatic organisms. Although increasing attention has been paid to the effect of heavy metals on E. sinensis, the molecular mechanism responding to Pb exposure in E. sinensis has not been comprehensively studied. Therefore, based on histopathology and transcriptome, this study attempted to explore the molecular mechanism of exposure to Pb in gill tissues. Histological analysis showed that the gills were damaged under the Pb stress, affecting their biological functions. Additionally, transcriptome data identified 2505 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), some of which were related to osmotic regulation, energy metabolism, immune defense, and apoptosis, playing vital roles in response to Pb stress. Our study revealed the molecular mechanism of E. sinensis responding to Pb exposure, providing an important foundation for understanding the harmfulness of Pb toxicity to E. sinensis during aquaculture.
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Funding
This study was supported by grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China to ZFW (No. 31702014), Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory for Bioresources of Saline Soils Open Foundation to ZFW (Grant no. JKLBS2019006), and Doctoral Scientific Research Foundation of Yancheng Teachers University to ZFW.
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All the authors contributed to the study conception and design. Investigation, ZFW, YYG, and YW; data curation, ZFW and YYG; funding acquisition, ZFW; project administration, ZFW and YYG; resources, ZFW and YYG; software, YW and SZ; validation, SZ, CC, XYW; visualization, CC; writing—original draft, ZFW and YYG; writing—review and editing, ZFW, YYG, YW, and SZ. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
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Wang, Z., Guan, Y., Wang, Y. et al. Transcriptome and histopathology analyses of the gills of Eriocheir sinensis provide novel insights into the molecular mechanism of Pb stress. Aquacult Int 31, 3329–3344 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10499-023-01126-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10499-023-01126-3