Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 19, 2025
Eyestalk Ablation to Increase Ovarian Maturation in Mud Crabs
Published on: March 31, 2023
Sexual dimorphic eyestalk transcriptome of kuruma prawn Marsupenaeus japonicus
Kenji Toyota1, Miyuki Mekuchi2, Hiroshi Akashi3
1Noto Marine Laboratory, Institute of Nature and Environmental Technology, Kanazawa University, Ogi, Noto-cho, Ishikawa 927-0553, Japan; Department of Biological Science and Technology, Faculty of Advanced Engineering, Tokyo University of Science, 6-3-1 Niijuku, Katsushika-ku, Tokyo, 125-8585, Japan; Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Kanagawa University, 2946 Tsuchiya, Hiratsuka, Kanagawa 259-1293, Japan.
Abstract:
Kuruma prawn (Marsupenaeus japonicus) is a benthic decapod crustacean that is widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific region. It is one of the most important fishery resources in Japan, but its annual catches have declined sharply since the 1990s. To increase stocks, various approaches such as seed production and aquaculture were attempted. Since the demand for important fishery species, including kuruma prawn, is expected to increase worldwide in the future, there is a need to develop new technologies that will make aquaculture more efficient. Historically, the eyestalk endocrine organ is known to consist of the X-organ and sinus gland (XO/SG) complex that synthesizes and secrets various neuropeptide hormones that regulate growth, molt, sexual maturation, reproduction, and changes in body color. In the current study, eyestalk-derived neuropeptides were identified in the transcriptome. In addition, most orthologs of sex-determination genes were expressed in eyestalks. We identified two doublesex genes (MjapDsx1 and MjapDsx2) and found that MjapDsx1 showed male-biased expression in the eyestalk ganglion with no sex-specific splicing, unlike insect species. Therefore, this study will provide an opportunity to advance the research of neuropeptides and sex determination in the kuruma prawn.
