Abstract
The paired-box 3 (Pax3) is a transcription factor and it plays an important part in melanin synthesis. In this study, a new Pax3 gene was identified from Pteria penguin (Röding, 1798) (P. penguin) by RACE-PCR (rapid-amplification of cDNA ends-polymerase chain reaction) and its effect on melanin synthesis was deliberated by RNA interference (RNAi). The cDNA of PpPax3 was 2250 bp long, containing an open reading fragment of 1365 bp encoding 455 amino acids. Amino acid alignment and phylogenetic tree showed PpPax3 shared the highest (69.2%) identity with Pax3 of Mizuhopecten yessoensis. Tissue expression profile showed that PpPax3 had the highest expression in mantle, a nacre-formation related tissue. The PpPax3 silencing significantly inhibited the expression of PpPax3, PpMitf, PpTyr and PpCdk2, genes involved in Tyr-mediated melanin synthesis, but had no effect on PpCreb2 and an increase effect on PpBcl2. Furthermore, the PpPax3 knockdown obviously decreased the tyrosinase activity, the total content of eumelanin and the proportion of PDCA (pyrrole-2,3-dicarboxylic acid) in eumelanin, consistent with influence of tyrosinase (Tyr) knockdown. These data indicated that PpPax3 played an important regulating role in melanin synthesis by Tyr pathway in P. penguin.
Highlights
The winged pearl oyster Pteria penguin (Röding, 1798) (P. penguin) is an important marine cultured species that produces high-quality seawater pearl, whose value depends mainly on its color [1,2]
Based on the cDNA fragment of paired-box 3 (Pax3) from transcriptome database of P. penguin, the complete cDNA of PpPax3 gene was obtained by RACE-PCR
The PpPax3 cDNA consisted of an open reading frame (452–1816) of 1365bp, a 5 -untranslated region (UTR) of 451bp, and a 3 -UTR of 434bp with a typical polyadenylation signal sequence (AATAAA) and a 31bp poly (A) tail (Figure 1)
Summary
The winged pearl oyster Pteria penguin (Röding, 1798) (P. penguin) is an important marine cultured species that produces high-quality seawater pearl, whose value depends mainly on its color [1,2]. The melanin is the major pigment in P. penguin and largely affects the color and value of the pearl [3]. Inhibiting the synthesis and secretion of melanin in mantle might change the color of nacre in P. penguin. Melanin plays an important role in a series of physiological processes, including pigmentation, skin photoprotection and aging [5]. Melanin synthesis is a complex process, and more than 40 genes participate in it [6,7,8]. The microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (Mitf ) is a central regulator of melanogenesis, and it activates the transcription of several important genes, including Tyr, Cdk (cyclin-dependent kinase 2) and Bcl (B-cell lymphoma 2), to control melanocyte differentiation, growth and survival [6,8,12]
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