Abstract
Spotted scat (Scatophagus argus) is an economically important marine aquaculture and ornamental fish species in Asia, especially in southeast China. In this study, skin transcriptomes of S. argus were obtained for three types of skin, including black-spotted skin (A), non-spotted skin (B) and caudal fin (C). A total of nine complementary DNA (cDNA) libraries were obtained by Illumina sequencing. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that 1358, 2086 and 487 genes were differentially expressed between A and B, A and C, and B and C, respectively. The results revealed that there were 134 common significantly differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and several key genes related to pigment synthesis and pigmentation, including tyrp1, mitf, pmel, slc7a2, tjp1, hsp70 and mart-1. Of these, some DEGs were associated with pigmentation-related Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways, such as tyrosine metabolism, melanogenesis, the Wnt signaling pathway and the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. The results will facilitate understanding the molecular mechanisms of skin pigmentation differentiation in S. argus and provide valuable information for skin coloration, especially the formation of spotted patterns on other marine fish species.
Highlights
Skin pigmentation and color patterns are the most diverse phenotypic characteristics in animals
We found that monovalent inorganic cation transport (GO:0015672), ion transport (GO:0006811), pyruvate metabolic process (GO:0006090) and glycolytic process (GO:0006096) were the most enriched components in the biological process (BP) category; troponin complex (GO:0005861), striated muscle thin filament (GO:0005865), cytoskeletal part (GO:0044430) and supramolecular complex (GO:0099080) were the enriched terms in the cellular component (CC) category; ion transmembrane transporter activity (GO:0015075) and ion channel activity (GO:0005216) were the most common terms in the molecular function (MF) category
The results showed that more differentially expressed genes were upregulated in black-spotted skin when compared to non-spotted skin and caudal fin, indicating that the formation process of black spots on the skin was complex and that more genes needed to participate in the process
Summary
Skin pigmentation and color patterns are the most diverse phenotypic characteristics in animals. Their functions are closely related to adaptation to different environments, including temperature regulation, camouflage, social interaction, spouse choice, etc. The formation of color patterns is determined by various pigments synthesized by chromophores or pigment cells. The color of pigment cells and pigment pattern formation and maintenance are related to the nutritional, physiological, genetic and environmental factors, making pigmentation a complex biological process [4]. The genetic basis is the most important factor affecting skin pigmentation through gene regulation. Genetic and genomic analysis techniques are used to explore the mechanisms of skin pigmentation
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