Metabolomic and metagenomic analyses of the Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis after challenge with Metschnikowia bicuspidata

Abstract

Milky disease caused by Metschnikowia bicuspidata fungus has significantly harmed the Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis aquaculture industry. However, the effect of M. bicuspidata infection on the metabolism and intestinal flora of the crab remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to explore the changes in the metabolism and intestinal flora E. sinensis after 48 h of infection with M. bicuspidata, using metabolomic and metagenomic analyses. Metabolomic analysis results revealed 420 significantly different metabolites between the infected and control groups, and these metabolites were enriched in 58 metabolic pathways. M. bicuspidata infection decreased the levels of metabolites related to amino acid biosynthesis, the tricarboxylic acid cycle, as well as lysine, histidine, linolenic, arachidonic, and linoleic acid metabolism. These results indicated that M. bicuspidata infection significantly affected the energy metabolism, growth, and immunity of E. sinensis. The results of metagenomic analysis showed that the anaerobes and ascomycetes populations significantly increased and decreased, respectively, after M. bicuspidata infection. These changes in intestinal flora significantly upregulated metabolic and synthetic pathways while downregulating immunity-related pathways. The results of integrated metabolomic and metagenomic analyses showed that 55 differentially expressed genes and 28 operational taxonomic units were correlated with 420 differential metabolites. Thus, the intestinal flora changes caused by M. bicuspidata infection also affected the metabolites. This study provides novel insights into the metabolic-and intestinal microflora-based effects of M. bicuspidata infection in E. sinensis, as well as a theoretical basis for the interaction between fungi and crustaceans.

Crabs Eriocheir japonica and Paralithodes camtschaticus Are a Rich Source of Lipid Molecular Species with High Nutritional Value

“…The development of analytical methods has led to an increase in studies on the composition of lipid molecular species in marine organisms. Changes in crabs’ lipidome have been shown to occur under different diets [ 16 , 17 , 24 ] and fungal infection [ 15 , 25 ]. We identified the profile molecular species of main lipid classes in the hepatopancreas and muscles of the crabs E. japonica and P. camtschaticus .…”

Change of termite hindgut metabolome and bacteria after captivity indicates the hindgut microbiota provides nutritional factors to the host

“…Two groups of hindgut fluid were used in this experiment: one group was the hindgut fluid from the freshly-collected workers (HFF) and the other was that from the laboratory-maintained workers (HFL). There were six colonies for each group, with one colony as a replicate ( Jiang et al, 2022 ).…”

Comparison of the gut microbiota and untargeted gut tissue metabolome of Chinese mitten crabs (Eriocheir sinensis) with different shell colors

“…Omics technologies, such as transcriptomic, metabolomic, and gut microbiome analyses, provide innovative methodologies for investigating biological systems by probing and analyzing large datasets characterizing an organism under a particular condition ( Dai and Shen, 2022 ; Jiang et al, 2022 ). In a previous study, we compared the transcriptome of first-stage zoea larvae (ZI) between RH and GH and identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) that are associated with shell color differentiation and immunodeficiency ( Zhao et al, 2020b ).…”

“…The metabolite profile can not only reflect the physiological condition of the organism ( Bundy et al, 2009 ; Wishart, 2019 ) but also define the functional status of the host and microbiota ( Chen et al, 2019 ). Therefore, many studies have focused on E. sinensis metabolome variations related to food, disease, and the environment ( Chen et al, 2021b ; Guo et al, 2022 ; Jiang et al, 2022 ). In aquatic animals, integrative analysis of the microbiota and metabolome has been utilized to investigate alterations in the physiological status of hosts related to differences in nutrition intake ( Chen et al, 2021b ), habitats ( Chen et al, 2021a ), growth performance ( Uengwetwanit et al, 2020 ; Lan et al, 2023 ), and aquaculture systems ( Ding et al, 2022 ; Yokoyama et al, 2022 ).To our knowledge, there has been no metabolomic study related to the different shell colors of E. sinensis thus far.…”