Abstract
Intracellular fatty acid-binding proteins (FABPs) are multifunctional cytosolic lipid-binding proteins found in vertebrates and invertebrates. In this work, we used RACE to obtain a full-length cDNA of Sp-FABP from the mud crab Scylla paramamosain. The open reading frame of the full length cDNA (886 bp) encoded a 136 amino acid polypeptide that showed high homology with related genes from other species. Real-time quantitative PCR identified variable levels of Sp-FABP transcripts in epidermis, eyestalk, gill, heart, hemocytes, hepatopancreas, muscle, ovary, stomach and thoracic ganglia. In ovaries, Sp-FABP expression increased gradually from stage I to stage IV of development and decreased in stage V. Sp-FABP transcripts in the hepatopancreas and hemocytes were up-regulated after a bacterial challenge with Vibrio alginnolyficus. These results suggest that Sp-FABP may be involved in the growth, reproduction and immunity of the mud crab.
Highlights
Fatty acid-binding proteins (FABPs) are small (14-15 kDa), ubiquitous, multigenic cytosolic proteins that bind non-covalently to hydrophobic ligands, mainly fatty acids (FAs) (Esteves and Ehrlich, 2006)
FABPs belong to a large family of ubiquitous, lowmolecular-mass, small cytosolic lipid-binding proteins responsible for the non-covalent binding of hydrophobic ligands, primarily fatty acids (Zimmerman and Veerkamp, 2002)
FABPs have been extensively studied in vertebrates whereas considerably less is known about these proteins in invertebrates
Summary
Fatty acid-binding proteins (FABPs) are small (14-15 kDa), ubiquitous, multigenic cytosolic proteins that bind non-covalently to hydrophobic ligands, mainly fatty acids (FAs) (Esteves and Ehrlich, 2006). FAs have a role in gene transcription, especially genes that encode proteins involved in lipid metabolism (DeWille and Farmer 1993; Martin et al, 1997; Clarke 2000; Louet et al, 2001). FABPs are indirectly involved in biological responses mediated by FAs. Since the isolation of the first invertebrate FABP from the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria, by Haunerl and Chisholm (1990), a growing number of FABPs have been identified in invertebrates. FABPs have a wide range of crucial biological roles, including the regulation of cellular lipid homeostasis, cell growth and differentiation, cellular signaling, gene transcription and cytoprotection (Zimmerman and Veerkamp, 2002). Studies with the Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis have shown that Es-FABP expression levels vary with the stage of ovarian development (Gong et al, 2010)
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