Dataset Information

Cloning, tissue and ontogenetic expression of the taurine transporter in the flatfish Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis).

ABSTRACT: Flatfish species seem to require dietary taurine for normal growth and development. Although dietary taurine supplementation has been recommended for flatfish, little is known about the mechanisms of taurine absorption in the digestive tract of flatfish throughout ontogeny. This study described the cloning and ontogenetic expression of the taurine transporter (TauT) in the flatfish Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis). Results showed a high similarity between TauT in Senegalese sole and other vertebrates, but a change in TauT amino acid sequences indicates that taurine transport may differ between mammals and fish, reptiles or birds. Moreover, results showed that Senegalese sole metamorphosis is an important developmental trigger to promote taurine transport in larvae, especially in muscle tissues, which may be important for larval growth. Results also indicated that the capacity to uptake dietary taurine in the digestive tract is already established in larvae at the onset of metamorphosis. In Senegalese sole juveniles, TauT expression was highest in brain, heart and eye. These are organs where taurine is usually found in high concentrations and is believed to play important biological roles. In the digestive tract of juveniles, TauT was more expressed in stomach and hindgut, indicating that dietary taurine is quickly absorbed when digestion begins and taurine endogenously used for bile salt conjugation may be recycled at the posterior end of the digestive tract. Therefore, these results suggest an enterohepatic recycling pathway for taurine in Senegalese sole, a process that may be important for maintenance of the taurine body levels in flatfish species.

SUBMITTER: Pinto W

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3296012 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Cloning, tissue and ontogenetic expression of the taurine transporter in the flatfish Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis).

Pinto Wilson W Rønnestad Ivar I Jordal Ann-Elise Olderbakk AE Gomes Ana S AS Dinis Maria Teresa MT Aragão Cláudia C

Amino acids 20110106 4

Flatfish species seem to require dietary taurine for normal growth and development. Although dietary taurine supplementation has been recommended for flatfish, little is known about the mechanisms of taurine absorption in the digestive tract of flatfish throughout ontogeny. This study described the cloning and ontogenetic expression of the taurine transporter (TauT) in the flatfish Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis). Results showed a high similarity between TauT in Senegalese sole and other ve ...[more]

PMID: 21210163

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Project description:The retinas of nonmammalian vertebrates have cone photoreceptor mosaics that are often organized as highly patterned lattice-like distributions. In fishes, the two main lattice-like patterns are composed of double cones and single cones that are either assembled as interdigitized squares or as alternating rows. The functional significance of such orderly patterning is unknown. Here, the cone mosaics in two species of Soleidae flatfishes, the common sole and the Senegalese sole, were characterized and compared to those from other fishes to explore variability in cone patterning and how it may relate to visual function. The cone mosaics of the common sole and the Senegalese sole consisted of single, double, and triple cones in formations that differed from the traditional square mosaic pattern reported for other flatfishes in that no evidence of higher order periodicity was present. Furthermore, mean regularity indices for single and double cones were conspicuously lower than those of other fishes with "typical" square and row mosaics, but comparable to those of goldfish, a species with lattice-like periodicity in its cone mosaic. Opsin transcripts detected by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (sws1, sws2, rh2.3, rh2.4, lws, and rh1) were uniformly expressed across the retina of the common sole but, in the Senegalese sole, sws2, rh2.4, and rh1 were more prevalent in the dorsal retina. Microspectrophotometry revealed five visual pigments in the retina of the common sole [S(472), M(523), M(536), L(559), and rod(511)] corresponding to the repertoire of transcripts quantified except for sws1. Overall, these results indicate a loss of cone mosaic patterning in species that are primarily nocturnal or dwell in low light environments as is the case for the common sole and the Senegalese sole. The corollary is that lattice-like patterning of the cone mosaic may improve visual acuity. Ecological and physiological correlates derived from observations across multiple fish taxa that live in low light environments and do not possess lattice-like cone mosaics are congruent with this claim.

Project description:Dominance is defined as the preferential access to limited resources. The present study aimed to characterise dominance in a non-aggressive flatfish species, the Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) by 1) identifying dominance categories and associated behaviours and 2) linking dominance categories (dominant and subordinate) with the abundance of selected mRNA transcripts in the brain. Early juveniles (n = 74, 37 pairs) were subjected to a dyadic dominance test, related to feeding, and once behavioural phenotypes had been described the abundance of ten selected mRNAs related to dominance and aggressiveness was measured in the brain. Late juveniles were subjected to two dyadic dominance tests (n = 34, 17 pairs), related to feeding and territoriality and one group test (n = 24, 4 groups of 6 fish). Sole feeding first were categorized as dominant and sole feeding second or not feeding as subordinate. Three social behaviours (i. "Resting the head" on another fish, ii. "Approaching" another fish, iii. "Swimming above another" fish) were associated with dominance of feeding. Two other variables (i. Total time occupying the preferred area during the last 2 hours of the 24 h test, ii. Organisms occupying the preferred area when the test ended) were representative of dominance in the place preference test. In all tests, dominant fish compared to subordinate fish displayed a significantly higher number of the behaviours "Rest the head" and "Approaches". Moreover, dominant sole dominated the sand at the end of the test, and in the group test dominated the area close to the feed delivery point before feed was delivered. The mRNA abundance of the selected mRNAs related to neurogenesis (nrd2) and neuroplasticity (c-fos) in dominant sole compared to subordinate were significantly different. This is the first study to characterise dominance categories with associated behaviours and mRNA abundance in Senegalese sole and provides tools to study dominance related problems in feeding and reproduction in aquaculture.

Project description:BACKGROUND: Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) and common sole (S. solea) are two economically and evolutionary important flatfish species both in fisheries and aquaculture. Although some genomic resources and tools were recently described in these species, further sequencing efforts are required to establish a complete transcriptome, and to identify new molecular markers. Moreover, the comparative analysis of transcriptomes will be useful to understand flatfish evolution. RESULTS: A comprehensive characterization of the transcriptome for each species was carried out using a large set of Illumina data (more than 1,800 millions reads for each sole species) and 454 reads (more than 5 millions reads only in S. senegalensis), providing coverages ranging from 1,384x to 2,543x. After a de novo assembly, 45,063 and 38,402 different transcripts were obtained, comprising 18,738 and 22,683 full-length cDNAs in S. senegalensis and S. solea, respectively. A reference transcriptome with the longest unique transcripts and putative non-redundant new transcripts was established for each species. A subset of 11,953 reference transcripts was qualified as highly reliable orthologs (>97% identity) between both species. A small subset of putative species-specific, lineage-specific and flatfish-specific transcripts were also identified. Furthermore, transcriptome data permitted the identification of single nucleotide polymorphisms and simple-sequence repeats confirmed by FISH to be used in further genetic and expression studies. Moreover, evidences on the retention of crystallins crybb1, crybb1-like and crybb3 in the two species of soles are also presented. Transcriptome information was applied to the design of a microarray tool in S. senegalensis that was successfully tested and validated by qPCR. Finally, transcriptomic data were hosted and structured at SoleaDB. CONCLUSIONS: Transcriptomes and molecular markers identified in this study represent a valuable source for future genomic studies in these economically important species. Orthology analysis provided new clues regarding sole genome evolution indicating a divergent evolution of crystallins in flatfish. The design of a microarray and establishment of a reference transcriptome will be useful for large-scale gene expression studies. Moreover, the integration of transcriptomic data in the SoleaDB will facilitate the management of genomic information in these important species.

Project description:BACKGROUND: Keratins make up the largest subgroup of intermediate filaments, and, in chordates, represent the most abundant proteins in epithelial cells. They have been associated with a wide range of functions in the cell, but little information is still available about their expression profile and regulation during flatfish metamorphosis. Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) is a commercially important flatfish in which no keratin gene has been described yet. RESULTS: The development of large-scale genomics of Senegalese sole has facilitated the identification of two different type I keratin genes referred to as sseKer1 and sseKer2. Main characteristics and sequence identities with other fish and mammal keratins are described. Phylogenetic analyses grouped sseKer1 and sseKer2 in a significant clade with other teleost epidermal type I keratins, and have allowed for the identification of sseKer2 as a novel keratin. The expression profile of both genes was studied during larval development and in tissues using a real-time approach. sseKer1 and sseKer2 mRNA levels were significantly higher in skin than in other tissues examined. During metamorphosis, sseKer1 transcripts increased significantly at first stages, and reduced thereafter. In contrast, sseKer2 mRNA levels did not change during early metamorphosis although a significant drop at metamorphosis climax and late metamorphosis was also detected. To study the possible regulation of sseKer gene expressions by thyroid hormones (THs), larvae were exposed to the goitrogen thiourea (TU). TU-treated larvae exhibited higher sseKer1 and sseKer2 mRNA levels than untreated control at both 11 and 15 days after treatment. Moreover, addition of exogenous T4 hormone to TU-treated larvae restored or even reduced the steady-state levels with respect to the untreated control, demonstrating that expression of both genes is negatively regulated by THs. CONCLUSION: We have identified two keratin genes, referred to as sseKer1 and sseKer2, in Senegalese sole. Phylogenetic analyses revealed sseKer2 as a novel keratin. Although they exhibit different expression patterns during larval development, both of them are negatively regulated by THs. The co-regulation by THs could explain the reduction of both keratin transcripts after the metamorphosis climax, suggesting their role in the tissue remodelling processes that occur during metamorphosis.

Project description:The substitution of fish resources as ingredients for aquafeeds by those based on vegetable sources is needed to ensure aquaculture sustainability in the future. It is known that Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) accepts high dietary content of plant ingredients without altering growth or flesh quality parameters. However, scarce information is available regarding the long-term impact of vegetable diets (combining the inclusion of both vegetable protein and oils) on the stress response and immunity of this fish species. This study aims to evaluate the concomitant effect of the extended use of vegetable protein-based diets with fish oil (FO) replacement (0, 50 or 100%) by vegetable oils (VO), on the response to acute (10 min) or prolonged (4 days) stress, induced by thermal shock. Plasma levels of cortisol, glucose and lactate as well as hepatic levels of glucose, glycogen and lactate were evaluated as primary and secondary responses to stress, 6 and 18 months after feeding the experimental diets (6 and 18 MAF). The brain monoaminergic activity in telencephalon and hypothalamus, and non-specific immune parameters were also evaluated. As expected, thermal shock induced an increase in values of plasma parameters related to stress, which was more evident in acute than in prolonged stress. Stress also affected lactate levels in the liver and the values of the alternative complement pathway-ACH50 in the plasma. Dietary substitution of FO induced an effect per se on some parameters such as decreased hepatic glucose and glycogen levels and peroxidase activity in plasma as well enhanced serotonergic activity in brain of non-stressed fish. The results obtained in some parameters indicate that there is an interaction between the use of vegetable diets with the physiological response to thermal stress, as is the case of the hepatic lactate, serotonergic neurotransmission in brain, and the activity of ACH50 in plasma. These results suggest that the inclusion of VO in plant protein based diets point to a slightly inhibited stress response, more evident for an acute than a prolonged stress.

Dataset Information

Cloning, tissue and ontogenetic expression of the taurine transporter in the flatfish Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis).

Publications

Cloning, tissue and ontogenetic expression of the taurine transporter in the flatfish Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis).

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