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Updated: Nov 23, 2025
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Proprioception and Tension Receptors in Crab Limbs: Student Laboratory Exercises
Published on: October 24, 2013
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Oxygen sensing in crustaceans: functions and mechanisms
Tábata Martins de Lima1, Luiz Eduardo Maia Nery2, Fábio Everton Maciel2
1Programa de Pós-Graduação Em Ciências Fisiológicas, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, FURG, Av. Itália, Km 8, Rio Grande, RS, 96201-300, Brazil. tabatalimafac@gmail.com.
Summary
Crustaceans may sense oxygen levels using atypical soluble guanylyl cyclases (sGCs) and hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs), similar to insects and nematodes. This research identifies key oxygen-sensing molecules in crustaceans for future study.
Area of Science:
- Comparative physiology
- Molecular biology
- Environmental adaptation
Background:
- Animals require metabolic adjustments to changing environments, necessitating oxygen sensing.
- Nematodes and insects use soluble guanylyl cyclases (sGCs) and hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) for oxygen sensing.
- Crustacean oxygen sensing mechanisms are less understood than in other invertebrates.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review crustacean oxygen sensing mechanisms.
- To identify potential oxygen-sensing molecules in crustaceans by analyzing transcriptomes.
- To compare crustacean oxygen sensing pathways with those in nematodes and insects.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of crustacean oxygen sensing.
- Bioinformatic analysis of crustacean transcriptomes.
- Identification of orthologues for sGCs, HIFs, and prolyl hydroxylases (PHs).
Main Results:
- Identified orthologues of hypoxia-activated atypical sGCs (Gyc-88E/GCY-31, Gyc-89D/GCY-33) in crustaceans.
- Found orthologues of HIF-α, HIF-β, and PH in crustacean transcriptomes.
- Located these molecules within crustacean chemosensory organs and neurons.
Conclusions:
- Crustaceans possess molecular machinery for oxygen sensing analogous to nematodes and insects.
- Atypical sGCs activated by hypoxia are present in crustaceans.
- Future research should explore the functional roles of identified sGCs, HIFs, and PHs in crustacean oxygen sensing.
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