Open AccessMyostatin: A Potential Growth‐Regulating Gene in Giant River Prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii
Author(s) -
P. E. Sarasvathi,
Bhassu Subha,
Maningas Mary B. B.,
Othman Rofina Y.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of the world aquaculture society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.655
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1749-7345
pISSN - 0893-8849
DOI - 10.1111/jwas.12238
Subject(s) - macrobrachium rosenbergii , myostatin , biology , gene , open reading frame , furin , prawn , follistatin , genetics , microbiology and biotechnology , peptide sequence , fishery , biochemistry , enzyme
Growth retardation and diseases hindering growth are constraints faced by Macrobrachium rosenbergii and thus urge an in‐depth study on the growth and growth‐related genes to improve this species. This study focused on molecular cloning and characterization of the myostatin gene in M. rosenbergii ( Mr MSTN) followed by mRNA transcription in different life stages and upon infectious hypodermal and hematopoietic necrosis virus ( IHHNV ) infection. We have characterized a full‐length Mr MSTN gene encoding 1619 base pairs (bp) with an open reading frame of 945 bp that encodes for 315 amino acid residues. Mr MSTN retains all the conserved characteristics belonging to TGF‐β superfamily including propeptide and mature peptide domain, cysteine residues and a proteolytic cleavage site, RXXR where “XX” denotes Asparagine and Arginine. Mr MSTN gene is ubiquitously expressed in all the tissues of healthy adults, with the highest expression observed in muscle. Moreover, the Mr MSTN transcripts showed significant ( P < 0.05) changes in different life stages of M. rosenbergii and IHHNV‐challenged prawns. The results indicate the possible functional role of Mr MSTN as a negative growth regulator. Thus, Mr MSTN can be exploited further to enhance the growth and can be used as a biomarker to address the growth deficiency‐related problems in M. rosenbergii .