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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Aquatic Physiology
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2024.1494264

SIFa and its receptors play a possibly stimulatory role during ovarian development of the mud crab Scylla paramamosain

Provisionally accepted
Sijia Chen Sijia Chen Yiwei Tang Yiwei Tang Li Lu Li Lu Shaoming Gong Shaoming Gong An Liu An Liu *Haihui Ye Haihui Ye *
  • State Key Laboratory of Mariculture Breeding, Fisheries College, Jimei University, Xiamen, Fujian Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    SIFamide is an amidated neuropeptide with a conserved Ser-Ile-Phe structure at its C-terminal, which is crucial in insect courtship, sleep and feeding in insects. However, little information exists regarding its function in crustaceans. This study aimed to identify the cDNA of Sp-SIFa and its two putative receptors (Sp-SIFaR1 and Sp-SIFaR2) in the mud crab Scylla paramamosain. The expression profiles of Sp-SIFa and its receptors signaling were investigated to explore their potential roles. The results indicated that Sp-SIFa was expressed primarily in the nervous tissues and the midgut, and Sp-SIFaR1 was extensively expressed in the eyestalk ganglion, cerebral ganglion, hepatopancreas and the ovary whereas Sp-SIFaR2 was restricted to the eyestalk ganglion and ovary. The Sp-SIFa expression in the cerebral ganglion was significantly increased at the late vitellogenic stage during the ovarian development. The expression patterns of Sp-SIFaR1 and Sp-SIFaR2 in the ovary were similar to Sp-SIFa, indicating a potential function in regulating ovarian development. Subsequently, in vitro and in vivo experiments were performed to further support this hypothesis. The expression of Sp-Vg and Sp-VgR was significantly induced by Sp-SIFa peptide in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, prolonged injection of the Sp-SIFa peptide caused a significant increase in Sp-VgR expression, oocyte diameter and gonadal development index, demonstrating a possible stimulatory effect on ovarian development. In conclusion, our results suggest that Sp-SIFa may regulate ovarian development by promoting Vg biosynthesis and oocyte uptake in the mud crab S. paramamosain.

    Keywords: SiFA, SIFa receptors, Scylla paramamosain, ovarian development, Mud crab

    Received: 10 Sep 2024; Accepted: 30 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Chen, Tang, Lu, Gong, Liu and Ye. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    An Liu, State Key Laboratory of Mariculture Breeding, Fisheries College, Jimei University, Xiamen, Fujian Province, China
    Haihui Ye, State Key Laboratory of Mariculture Breeding, Fisheries College, Jimei University, Xiamen, Fujian Province, China

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