Identification and function analysis of steroid hormone synthesis pathway-related gene-Hsd3b in Scylla paramamosain

Yicong Huang; Xiaojian Lai; Ziping Zhang; Bohao Peng; Xiwei Jia; Zhihua Zou; Yilei Wang

doi:10.1016/j.jsbmb.2024.106529

Identification and function analysis of steroid hormone synthesis pathway-related gene-Hsd3b in Scylla paramamosain

J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2024 Apr 24:241:106529. doi: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2024.106529. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Yicong Huang¹, Xiaojian Lai¹, Ziping Zhang², Bohao Peng¹, Xiwei Jia¹, Zhihua Zou¹, Yilei Wang³

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Mariculture Breeding, Fisheries College, Jimei University, Xiamen 361021, China; Key Laboratory of Healthy Mariculture for the East China Sea, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Fisheries College, Jimei University, Xiamen 361021, China.
² College of Marine Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Mariculture Breeding, Fisheries College, Jimei University, Xiamen 361021, China; Key Laboratory of Healthy Mariculture for the East China Sea, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Fisheries College, Jimei University, Xiamen 361021, China. Electronic address: ylwang@jmu.edu.cn.

PMID: 38670516
DOI: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2024.106529

Abstract

Mud crab (Scylla paramamosain) has become an important mariculture crab along the southeast coast of China due to its strong adaptability, delicious taste, and rich nutrition. Several vertebrate steroid hormones and their synthesis-related genes and receptors have been found in crustaceans, but there are few reports on their synthesis process and mechanism. 3-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (HSD3B) is a member of the Short-chain Dehydrogenase/Reductase (SDR) family, and an indispensable protein in vertebrates' steroid hormone synthesis pathway. In this study, the SpHsd3b gene sequence was obtained from the transcriptome data of S. paramamosain, and its full-length open reading frame (ORF) was cloned. The spatial and temporal expression pattern of SpHsd3b was performed by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). SpHsd3b dsRNA interference (RNAi) and HSD3B inhibitor (trilostane) were used to analyze the function of SpHSD3B. The results showed that the SpHsd3b gene has an 1113 bp ORF encoding 370 amino acids with a 3β-HSD domain. SpHSD3B has lower homology with HSD3B of vertebrates and higher homology with HSD3B of crustaceans. SpHsd3b was expressed in all examined tissues in mature crabs, and its expression was significantly higher in the testes than in the ovaries. SpHsd3b expression level was highest in the middle stage of testicular development, while its expression was higher in the early and middle stages of ovarian development. RNAi experiment and trilostane injection results showed that SpHSD3B had regulatory effects on several genes related to gonadal development and steroid hormone synthesis. 15-day trilostane suppression could also inhibit ovarian development and progesterone level of hemolymph. According to the above results, crustaceans may have steroid hormone synthesis pathways like vertebrates, and the Hsd3b gene may be involved in the gonadal development of crabs. This study provides further insight into the function of genes involved in steroid hormone synthesis in crustaceans.

Keywords: Gonadal development; Hsd3b; Progesterone; RNAi; Scylla paramamosain; Steroid hormone; Trilostane.