A proteomic study on postdiapaused embryonic development of brine shrimp (Artemia franciscana)

Encysted gastrula of brine shrimp (Artemia, Crustacea, and Anostraca) provides an excellent model for studying molecular processes of diapause. We report a proteomic study on early molecular responses of Artemia's postdiapaused cysts and found that dehydrated cysts actually store more proteins, in both kind and amount, than developing cysts. We identified 75 differentially expressed proteins over a course of cyst development, and also exploited PTMs of dehydrate cysts. We further surveyed gene expression of postdiapaused cysts in early developmental phases in a 0.5 h interval up to the seventh hour, and discovered that the activation of cellular activities is ignited as early as 0.5 h after rehydration. We traced nine differentially expressed proteins (COXI, COXIII, heat shock proteins (HSP26, HSP60, and HSP70), CDC48, late embryogenesis abundant (LEA), GS1-like protein, and cathepsin L-associated protein (CLAP)) for quantitative transcriptional changes, monitored by real-time PCR, and found these proteins exhibiting distinct expression patterns that suggest complex gene regulations for cyst reactivation after diapause breakage. Future experiments should be designed to focus on early activation concerning signal transduction, energy generation, and PTMs.