Abstract
Late embryogenesis abundant proteins (LEA) are stress resistance-related proteins that play crucial roles in protecting against desiccation, cold and high salinity in a variety of animals and plants. However, the expression pattern, distribution and functions of LEA proteins in the post-diapause period of Artemia sinica, and under high salinity and low temperature stresses, remain unknown. In this study, the complete cDNA sequences of the group 1 LEA (As-g1lea) and group 3 LEA (As-g3lea) genes from A. sinica were cloned. The expression patterns and location of As-G1LEA and As-G1LEA were investigated. The protein abundances of As-G1LEA, As-G3LEA and Trehalase were analyzed during different developmental stages of the embryo and under low temperature and high salinity stresses in A. sinica. The full-length cDNA of As-g1lea was 960 bp, encoding a 182 amino acid protein, and As-g3lea was 2089 bp, encoding a 364 amino acid protein. As-g1lea and As-g3lea showed their highest expressions at 0 h of embryonic development and both showed higher relative expression in embryonic, rather than adult, development stages. The abundances of As-G1LEA, As-G3LEA and trehalose were upregulated under low temperature and downregulated under high salinity stress. These two genes did not show any tissue or organ specific expression. Our results suggested that these LEA proteins might play a pivotal role in stress tolerance in A. sinica
Highlights
Artemia sinica, known as the brine shrimp, is a small, primitive crustacean that lives in inland hyperosmotic salt lakes and coastal salt works in China
The hydrophobicity analysis of As-g1lea indicated that the protein is hydrophilic
The As-g1lea and As-g3lea transcript was cloned for the first time from A. sinica by using rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) technology
Summary
Known as the brine shrimp, is a small, primitive crustacean that lives in inland hyperosmotic salt lakes and coastal salt works in China. The Artemia was first reported in 1755 by Schlosser, who published an article about Artemia’s morphology. It was named Artemia salina by Leach in 1819 [1]. Artemia has high unsaturated fatty acid, protein and PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0162272. Artemia can produce diapause embryos, known as cysts, whose development and metabolism are suspended; these cysts are able to remain viable for many years without water [2,3]. Artemia is a good model organism in which to study different fields of embryo development, genetics, molecular biology, and temperature and high salinity stress responses [4,5]
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