Differences in the neighborhood: Structural variations in the carapace of shore crabs Carcinus maenas (Decapoda: Portunidae)

The present study compared the carapace structure of Carcinus maenas in two nearby sites (2 km apart) within Minho estuary, submitted to different physicochemical and ecological conditions (water temperature, pH, crabs’ density and sex ratio). The carapace structure of the carapace and chelae of the crabs presented significant differences between sampling sites (t-test; p < 0.01). The SIMPER analysis revealed that the Weight/CW and Thickness/CW ratios explained all the dissimilarities found among sites. Overall, the male carapace was proportionally thicker at station 2 (t-test; p < 0.01), while the female carapace was proportionally thicker at station 1 (t-test; p < 0.001). A thicker carapace can be advantageous when competing for food or a sexual partner. We hypothetized that, since at station 2, the density of individuals was twice higher than at station 1, it is likely that agonistic encounters are more frequent, thus favouring a thicker carapace.     

中华绒螯雌体腹肢外骨骼组织学初步研究

用组织学方法初步研究了中华绒螯蟹雌体腹肢的体壁结构。在光镜下 ,腹肢体壁由外至内分为 2层 ,分别为角膜层和上皮细胞层。前者又可分为上角膜、外角膜和内角膜 3层 ,其中外角膜中的几丁质纤维形成明暗相间的条带 ;内角膜包括内层和外层 2个亚层。上皮细胞层常与粘液腺紧密相连。角膜层上有粘液腺的分泌导管。     

三疣梭子蟹几丁质酶基因克隆鉴定及在低盐胁迫和蜕皮周期中的表达分析

几丁质酶在甲壳动物中参与多个生物学进程,发挥重要作用。本研究采用RACE技术,克隆获得总长为3694 bp的三疣梭子蟹(Portunus trituberculatus)几丁质酶基因全长c DNA序列,命名为Pt Cht基因。该基因5′和3′非编码区分别为200bp和455bp,开放阅读框为3039bp,推测编码1012个氨基酸,预测分子量为113.4k Da,理论等电点为6.289。生物信息学分析表明,Pt Cht基因含有2个催化结构域和1个几丁质结合结构域Cht BD2,催化结构域具有几丁质酶第18家族的保守基序MotifⅠ、Ⅱ、Ⅲ、Ⅳ;同源性和系统进化分析表明,三疣梭子蟹Pt Cht基因与亚洲玉米螟(Ostrinia furnacalis)Cht的同源性最高;荧光定量RT-PCR分析表明,Pt Cht基因在各组织中均有表达,而在眼柄和表皮中的相对表达量较高。Pt Cht基因在蜕皮周期中的表达规律表明,Pt Cht基因在不同蜕皮时期存在明显变化,在表皮中先下调后上调;在眼柄中,呈整体上调趋势。通过分析Pt Cht基因在低盐胁迫进程中的表达规律发现,低盐胁迫可显著改变Pt Cht基因在鳃和肝胰腺中的表达模式,整体呈先下降后上升最后下降的表达趋势。该研究结果表明Pt Cht基因在三疣梭子蟹蜕皮发育和渗透压调节中发挥重要作用,为深入研究三疣梭子蟹和其它甲壳动物几丁质酶的功能提供了重要信息。