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Identification of putative ingestion-related olfactory receptor genes in the Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir japonica sinensis)

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Abstract

Background

Olfaction plays a central role in mating, spawning, obtaining food and escaping predators, which is essential for survival and reproduction of animals. The nature of the olfactory perception in crabs, which is a major group of crustaceans, has remained elusive.

Objective

This project aims to explore the molecular mechanism of olfaction in crabs and further improve our understanding of olfactory perception in crustaceans.

Methods

The olfactory receptors and ingestion-related gene expression in Eriocheir japonica sinensis were studied by transcriptomic techniques. The de novo assembly, annotation and functional evaluation were performed with bioinformatics tools.

Results

A series of chemosensory receptors associated with olfaction were identified including 33 EsIRs, 24 EsIGluRs, 58 EsVIGluRs, 1 EsOR and 1 EsGC-D. We found IRs were key odorant receptors demonstrating a specific species evolutionary trend in crustaceans. Furthermore, we identified ORs in E. j. sinensis and Litopenaeus vannamei. The incomplete EsOR and LvOR1 structures implied that ORs exist in crustaceans, and may have been degenerated or even lost in the olfactory evolutionary process. In addition, comparative transcriptome analysises demonstrated two possible olfactory transduction pathways of E. j. sinensis: the cGMP-mediated olfactory pathway related to vegetable odor molecules and the cAMP-mediated olfactory pathway related to meat odor molecules. The above results were consistent with its omnivorous ingestion of E. j. sinensis.

Conclusions

Our study revealed the unique olfactory molecular mechanism of omnivorous crabs and provided valuable information for further functional research on the chemoreception mechanisms in crustaceans.

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Acknowledgements

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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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Bioresources of Saline Soils, Jiangsu Synthetic Innovation Center for Coastal Bio-Agriculture, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Coastal Wetland Bioresources and Environmental Protection, School of Wetlands, Yancheng Teachers University, Yancheng, 224001, Jiangsu, China

    Chenchen Shen, Dan Tang, Yiping Zhang, Lv Wu, Yaqi Luo, Boping Tang & Zhengfei Wang

  2. College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, 211800, Jiangsu, China

    Dan Tang

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  1. Chenchen Shen
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  2. Dan Tang
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  3. Yiping Zhang
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  5. Yaqi Luo
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  6. Boping Tang
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  7. Zhengfei Wang
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Investigation, ZFW, CCS and YPZ; Data curation, CCS, DT and YPZ; Funding acquisition, ZFW; Project administration, CCS and YPZ; Resources, ZFW and DT; Software, CCS and YPZ; Validation, WL and YQL; Visualization, CCS and YPZ; Writing—original draft, CCS; Writing—review and editing, CCS and DT. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Zhengfei Wang.

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Shen, C., Tang, D., Zhang, Y. et al. Identification of putative ingestion-related olfactory receptor genes in the Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir japonica sinensis). Genes Genom 43, 479–490 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13258-021-01065-4

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