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Transcriptome analysis of skin color variation during and after overwintering of Malaysian red tilapia

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A Correction to this article was published on 27 June 2022

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Abstract

The commercial value of red tilapia is hampered by variations in skin color during overwintering. In this study, three types of skin of red tilapia, including the skin remained pink color during and after overwintering (P), the skin changed from pink color to black color during overwintering and remained black color after overwintering (P-B), and the skin changed from pink color to black color during overwintering but recovered to pink color when the temperature rose after overwintering (P-B-P), were used to analyze their molecular mechanisms of color variation. The transcriptome results revealed that the P, P-B, and P-B-P libraries had 43, 42, and 43 million clean reads, respectively. The top 10 abundance mRNAs and specific mRNAs (specificity measure SPM > 0.9) were screened. After comparing intergroup gene expression levels, there were 2528, 1924, and 1939 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between P-B-P and P-B, P-B-P and P, and P-B and P, respectively. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses of color-related mRNAs showed that a number of DEGs, including tyrp1, tyr, pmel, mitf, mc1r, asip, tat, hpdb, and foxd3, might play a potential role in pigmentation. Additionally, the co-expression patterns of genes were detected within the pigment-related pathways by the PPI network from P-B vs. P group. Furthermore, DEGs from the apoptosis and autophagy pathways, such as baxα, beclin1, and atg7, might be involved in the fading of red tilapia melanocytes. The findings will aid in understanding the molecular mechanism underlying skin color variation in red tilapia during and after overwintering as well as lay a foundation for future research aimed at improving red tilapia skin color characteristics.

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All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article and its supplementary information files.

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Funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation-Youth Fund Project (31802290).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wuxi Fisheries College, Nanjing Agricultural University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China

    Bingjie Jiang & Zaijie Dong

  2. Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fisheries and Germplasm Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Freshwater Fisheries Research Center of Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, No. 9 Shanshui East Road, Wuxi, 214081, Jiangsu, China

    Lanmei Wang, Mingkun Luo, Jianjun Fu, Wenbin Zhu & Zaijie Dong

  3. AGCU ScienTech Incorporation, Wuxi, 214174, Jiangsu, China

    Wei Liu

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  1. Bingjie Jiang
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  2. Lanmei Wang
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  3. Mingkun Luo
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  4. Jianjun Fu
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  5. Wenbin Zhu
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  6. Wei Liu
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Contributions

Zaijie Dong conceived the study; Bingjie Jiang performed the experiments and wrote the paper; Wenbin Zhu provided the experimental materials; Lanmei Wang provided the funding for the experiment; Jianjun Fu and Wei Liu provided technical assistance in the experiments; Mingkun Luo revised the manuscript; Zaijie Dong reviewed the manuscript; all authors read and approved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Zaijie Dong.

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The sampling scheme and experimental protocols were subject to approval by the Bioethical Committee of Freshwater Fisheries Research Center (FFRC) of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences (CAFS) (BC 2013863, 9/2013). The methods of samples handled and experimental procedures carried out in accordance with the guidelines for the care and use of animals for scientific purposes issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Beijing, China (No.398, 2006).

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Jiang, B., Wang, L., Luo, M. et al. Transcriptome analysis of skin color variation during and after overwintering of Malaysian red tilapia. Fish Physiol Biochem 48, 669–682 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-022-01073-5

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