Exploration of immune response mechanisms in cadmium and copper co-exposed juvenile golden cuttlefish (Sepia esculenta) based on transcriptome profiling

Abstract

Sepia esculenta is a popular economic cephalopod with high yield, delicious meat, and rich nutrition. With the rapid development of heavy industry and medical industry, a large amount of waste has been released into the ocean recklessly in recent years, inducing a significant increase in the content of heavy metals, especially cadmium (Cd) and copper (Cu), in the ocean. This phenomenon significantly affects the growth and development of S. esculenta, causing a serious blow to its artificial breeding. In this study, transcriptome analysis is used to initially explore immune response mechanisms of Cd and Cu co-exposed juvenile S. esculenta. The results show that 1,088 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) are identified. And DEGs functional enrichment analysis results suggests that co-exposure may promote inflammatory and innate immune responses in juvenile S. esculenta. Fifteen key genes that might regulate the immunity of S. esculenta are identified using protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and KEGG enrichment analyses, of which the three genes with the highest number of interactions or involve in more KEGG pathways are identified as hub genes that might significantly affect the immune response processes. Comprehensive analysis of PPI network and KEGG signaling pathway is used for the first time to explore co-exposed S. esculenta juvenile immune response processes. Our results preliminarily reveal immune response mechanisms of cephalopods exposed to heavy metals and provide a valuable resource for further understanding of mollusk immunity.

Exploration of anti-stress mechanisms in high temperature exposed juvenile golden cuttlefish (Sepia esculenta) based on transcriptome profiling

“…The described biological processes may be significant factors in larval stress following high temperature exposure. In addition, among the 20 significantly enriched KEGG signaling pathways, the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway and MAPK signaling pathway play a crucial role in mollusk immunity ( Song et al, 2005 ; Kharchenko et al, 2010 ; Vergadi et al, 2017 ; Wang et al, 2019 ; Qiao et al, 2021 ; Bao et al, 2022a ). The immune response of S. esculenta larvae might be activated to protect against the injury caused by high temperature exposure.…”

“…The PI3K-Akt signaling pathway plays a central role in immune regulation by controlling the proliferation, differentiation, and migration of immune cells ( Song et al, 2005 ; Vergadi et al, 2017 ; Bao et al, 2022a ). Previous studies have shown that the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway in mollusks is involved in and regulates immune processes ( Canesi et al, 2002 ; Fukao and Koyasu, 2003 ; Troutman et al, 2012 ).…”

“…In recent years, there has been considerable progress in high-throughput transcriptome sequencing technology, and biological analysis through high-throughput transcriptome sequencing has become more accurate ( Morozova et al, 2009 ; Qian et al, 2014 ; Bao et al, 2022a ; Bao et al, 2022b ). To illustrate, through such technology, the expression of heat stress genes in Pinctada fucata have been found to be significantly reduced after being stimulated by multiple high temperatures, indicating that P. fucata is able to gradually adapt to the impact of high temperatures on their life activities ( Li et al, 2016 ).…”

Preliminary Exploration of Metabolic Mechanisms in Copper-Exposed Sepia esculenta Based on Transcriptome Analysis

“…About four weeks later, larvae were hatched and divided into the control group (C) and the Cu-exposed group (Cu). According to the relevant research results from our laboratory on S. esculenta [34,35], 50 µg/L of Cu was produced by dissolution of CuCl 2 × H 2 O 2 powder with 99% AR was used to expose larvae. We collected larvae at 0 h (C_0 h), 4 h (C_4 h and Cu_4 h), and 24 h (C_24 h and Cu_24 h).…”

Investigating the Mechanism of Low-Salinity Environmental Adaptation in Sepia esculenta Larvae through Transcriptome Profiling

“…High-throughput transcriptome sequencing is a technology that has developed relatively rapidly. The analysis of organism activities has become more accurate and efficient using this technology [8][9][10]. Previous studies have used this technique to examine biological processes in mollusks.…”