Journal of Tropical Oceanography ›› 2009, Vol. 28 ›› Issue (6): 88-94.doi: 10.11978/j.issn.1009-5470.2009.06.088cstr: 32234.14.j.issn.1009-5470.2009.06.088

• Marine biology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

The construction of normalized cDNA library and preliminary EST analysis from the gonad development and sexual differentiation related organs of Scylla serrata

ZOU Zhi-hua1, ZHANG Zi-ping2, WANG Yi-lei1, CHEN Jin-min1, JIA Xi-wei1, WANG Shu-hong1, LIN Peng1   

  1. 1.The Key Laboratory of Science and Technology for Aquaculture and Food Safety, Fisheries College, Jimei University, Xiamen, 361021,China
    2.Dept.of Chemistry and Biochemistry ,Texas State University,San Marco,TX 78666,USA
  • Received:2008-06-24 Revised:2008-12-11 Online:2009-12-30 Published:2009-12-12
  • Contact: 王艺磊 E-mail:ylwang@jmu.edu.cn
  • About author:邹志华(1979-),男,福建省漳州市人,硕士,主要从事水产动物功能基因组学研究,E-mail: libiyun@jmu.edu.cn。
  • Supported by:

    国家自然科学基金项目(项目编号:30070597,30571430)

Abstract:

To study the molecular mechanism in gonad development and sexual differentiation of Scylla serrata, a normalized cDNA library was constructed by using the combination of SMART (Switch mechanisms at the 5’end of RNA transcript) and DSN (duplex-specific nuclease) technique. Total RNA was isolated from testis, ovaries, eyestalks and androgenic gland, and then mixed equal amount of RNA from each tissue to make a total RNA pool.Oligotex (QIAGEN) was used to isolate the mRNA from the total RNA pool.The first strand cDNA was synthesized by transcription of mRNA with the SMART technique.The LD-PCR was performed using a modified SMART primer as the primer set, and first-strand cDNA as the template to amplify the cDNA population.After treatment with DSN, the normalized cDNAs were digested with Sfi I enzyme and size fractionated to remove the small products (<500bp). These normalized SMART cDNAs were ligated into the Sfi I-digested pDNR-LIB Vector.E.coli (TOP10) were transformed with the ligation mixture to generate a normalized cDNA plasmid library.The titer of unamplified cDNA libraries was 5.3×106cfu/ml.The titer of amplified cDNA libraries was above 1011cfu/ml.The cDNA inserts sizes ranged between 0.5-2.5kb.Recombination rate was more than 98%. A large-scale expressed sequence taq (EST) sequencing project was undertaken for the purpose of differentially expressed genes between male and female crabs. A total of 5202 clones were randomly analyzed by single-pass sequencing from the 5` end. Clustering and assembling of these ESTs resulted in a total of 2697 high quality sequences with 167 overlapping contigs and 2355 singletons. The redundancy of the cDNA library was 6.49%. Twenty-seven ESTs showed significant homology (BLASTX e-value<10-10)to known genes such as genes related to gonad development and sex differentiation, heat shock protein family, ubiquitin system, disease resistant, antioxidant defense system. Nine ESTs named Sry-like protein C, Sox14 protein, Sox4b, sex-determining protein fem-1, vitellogenin, vitellogenin receptor, cyclin A, cathepsin C, cyclin-dependent kinase 2 were proved to be associated with gonad development and sex differentiation by other investigators. This normalized cDNA library provides a useful resource for gene identification and functional genomic studies of Scylla serrata.

Key words: Scylla serrata, gonad development, sexual differentiation, normalized cDNA library, EST