A Rhodopsin-Like Gene May Be Associated With the Light-Sensitivity of Adult Pacific Oyster Crassostrea gigas
Light-sensitivity is important for mollusc survival, as it plays a vital role in reproduction and predator avoidance. Light-sensitivity has been demonstrated in the adult Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas, but the genes associated with light-sensitivity remain unclear. In the present study, we design...
Published in: | Frontiers in Physiology |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2018
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2018.00221 https://doaj.org/article/d1be5bf2f5914b51a8ef5c5315d59751 |
Summary: | Light-sensitivity is important for mollusc survival, as it plays a vital role in reproduction and predator avoidance. Light-sensitivity has been demonstrated in the adult Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas, but the genes associated with light-sensitivity remain unclear. In the present study, we designed experiments to identify the genes associated with light-sensitivity in adult oysters. First, we assessed the Pacific oyster genome and identified 368 genes annotated with the terms associated with light-sensitivity. Second, the function of the four rhodopsin-like superfamily member genes was tested by using RNAi. The results showed that the highest level of mRNA expression of the vision-related genes was in the mantle; however, this finding is not true for all oyster genes. Interestingly, we also found four rhodopsin-like superfamily member genes expressed at an very high level in the mantle tissue. In the RNAi experiment, when one of rhodopsin-like superfamily member genes (CGI_1001253) was inhibited, the light-sensitivity capacity of the injected oysters was significantly reduced, suggesting that CGI_10012534 may be associated with light-sensitivity in the adult Pacific oyster. |
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