Molecular Characterization Related to Ovary Early Development Mechanisms after Eyestalk Ablation in Exopalaemon carinicauda

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Exopalaemon carinicauda is a typical representative of crustaceans. However, the mechanism of ovary early development remains obscure. The purpose of this study is to identify and verify important genes related to ovary development by transcriptome sequencing and two-color fluorescent in situ hybridization, respectively. The result would provide clues for further study of ovary development in crustaceans. ABSTRACT: Eyestalk ablation is an effective method to promote ovarian development in crustaceans. Herein, we performed transcriptome sequencing of ovary and hepatopancreas tissues after eyestalk ablation in Exopalaemon carinicauda to identify genes related to ovarian development. Our analyses led to the identification of 97,383 unigenes and 190,757 transcripts, with an average N50 length of 1757 bp. In the ovary, four pathways related to oogenesis and three related to oocyte rapid growth were enriched. In the hepatopancreas, two vitellogenesis-associated transcripts were identified. Furthermore, short time-series expression miner (STEM) and gene ontology (GO) enrichment analyses revealed five terms related to gamete generation. In addition, two-color fluorescent in situ hybridization results suggested that dmrt1 might play a vital role in oogenesis during the early stage of ovarian development. Overall, our insights should support future studies focusing on investigating oogenesis and ovarian development in E. carinicauda.