AUTHOR=Duangprom Supawadee , Saetan Jirawat , Phanaksri Teva , Songkoomkrong Sineenart , Surinlert Piyaporn , Tamtin Montakan , Sobhon Prasert , Kornthong Napamanee 

TITLE=Acceleration of Ovarian Maturation in the Female Mud Crab With RNA Interference of the Vitellogenesis-Inhibiting Hormone (VIH)

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Marine Science

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.880235

DOI=10.3389/fmars.2022.880235

ISSN=2296-7745

ABSTRACT=<p>In the present study, double strand RNA technology (dsRNA) was used to inhibit transcripts of vitellogenesis-inhibiting hormone (VIH) that mainly synthesized and secreted from the central nervous system in <italic>Scylla olivacea</italic> females. The results presented in this study clearly demonstrate the potential dsRNA-VIH was highly effective to inhibit VIH in the eyestalks of females injected with dsRNA-VIH on the 3<sup>rd</sup>, 7<sup>th</sup> and 14<sup>th</sup> day, respectively. The dsRNA-VIH injections were performed at 14-day intervals, a single dsRNA dose of 0.6 µg/gram body weight was enough to suppress <italic>VIH</italic> expression until 14<sup>th</sup> day after injection. The dsRNA-VIH injection significantly increased gonad-somatic index (GSI) and hemolymph vitellin level at day 14 and 28 when compared with control groups. The histological observation found that the number of oocyte step 4 in dsRNA-VIH group was significantly higher than that of the control group. Also, dsRNA-VIH has stimulatory function on other reproduction-related genes such as the <italic>Scyol-PGES</italic> and <italic>Scyol-ESULT</italic> that both genes gradually increased their expressions in brain and ventral nerve cord. In conclusion, the silence of <italic>VIH</italic> gene could reduce the production of <italic>VIH</italic> from eyestalk and brain that affected other downstream genes related to ovarian maturation in the mud crab.</p>