Abstract
Synthesis of chitin is a subject of great interest in the fields of physiology and immunology of crustaceans. Chitinous tissues include not only the carapace, but also an acellular membrane in the intestine called the peritrophic membrane (PM). Here, we describe the first report of chitin synthase (CHS) of a penaeid shrimp, kuruma shrimp Penaeus japonicus. Histological observations showed that fecal matter in the midgut of kuruma shrimp was wrapped with a PM, which physically separated it from the midgut epithelium. Subsequently, the chitin synthase transcript was amplified from the midgut of the shrimp. The chitin synthase gene of kuruma shrimp (MjCHS) encodes 1,523 amino acid residues. Structural prediction analysis showed that the N-terminal region of MjCHS protein included nine transmembrane helices, the middle region included the catalytic region with several conserved motifs which are found in CHSs from other arthropods, and the C-terminal region included seven transmembrane helices. Although insects have distinct exoskeletal and intestinal chitin synthases, the phylogenetic analysis suggested that crustaceans have a single CHS. MjCHS mRNA was constantly detected in the digestive tract, including the midgut and hepatopancreas of both juvenile and adult kuruma shrimp, suggesting a stable synthesis of chitin in those organs. In contrast, MjCHS mRNA was also detected in the hindgut and uropod of juvenile shrimp. After molting, the mRNA levels of MjCHS in the stomach and uropod were higher than other molting cycles. These results suggest that MjCHS contributes to chitin synthesis in both the digestive tract and the epidermis, providing fundamental insights into chitin synthesis of crustaceans.
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Data Availability
The nucleotide sequence for the P. japonicus CHS is available on DDBJ database (MjCHS, LC769888).
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Funding
This work was supported by Sasakawa Scientific Research Grant from the Japan Science Society (2020–4063). This work was also supported in part by the Japan Science and Technology Agency /Japan International Cooperation Agency, Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS JPMJSA1806).
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Conceptualization: Kentaro Imaizumi, Ikuo Hirono; Methodology: Kentaro Imaizumi, Motohiko Sano, Hidehiro Kondo, Ikuo Hirono; Formal analysis: Kentaro Imaizumi; Resources: Kentaro Imaizumi, Motohiko Sano, Hidehiro Kondo, Ikuo Hirono; Writing—original draft: Kentaro Imaizumi; Writing—review & editing: Kentaro Imaizumi, Motohiko Sano, Hidehiro Kondo, Ikuo Hirono; Supervision: Hidehiro Kondo, Ikuo Hirono; Project administration: Kentaro Imaizumi, Ikuo Hirono; Funding acquisition: Kentaro Imaizumi, Motohiko Sano, Hidehiro Kondo, Ikuo Hirono.
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Imaizumi, K., Sano, M., Kondo, H. et al. Insights Into a Chitin Synthase of Kuruma Shrimp Penaeus japonicus and Its Role in Peritrophic Membrane and Cuticle Formation. Mar Biotechnol 25, 837–845 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10126-023-10244-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10126-023-10244-1