Expression patterns of As-ClC gene of Artemia sinica in early development and under salinity stress

As-ClC (chloride channels protein from Artemia sinica), a member from the chloride channels protein family, is a α-helical membrane protein predicted to traverse the cell membrane 11 times. It is important for several physiological functions such as cell volume regulation, cell proliferation, growth and differentiation. In this paper, the complete cDNA sequence of As-CIC was cloned from A. sinica for the first time using RACE technology. The expression pattern and location of the As-CIC gene was investigated in different stages of the embryonic development by means of quantitative real-time PCR and in situ hybridization (ISH) assay. As-CLC was distributed throughout the whole body in cells of different embryonic development of A. sinica as shown by ISH. There was a low expression level of the As-ClC gene after 0 h and a higher expression level after 15 and 40 h when the embryo entered the next growth period and the environmental salinity changed. At adult stage, the As-ClC maintained a high expression level. The results of the real-time PCR assay showed an increasing trend of As-ClC transcripts with increasing salinity. The expression of As-ClC was higher in the control group (28) than in the experimental group except at a salinity of 200 PSU. It indicated that As-ClC functions as salinity-stress-related gene, probably participated in cell volume regulation and osmotic regulation during the early embryonic development of A. sinica.