Comparative transcriptome analyses reveal the acute heat stress response of a cool-temperate shrimp Fenneropenaeus...

Temperature is a critical environmental factor in ecosystems, and understanding the integrated response of different tissues to heat stress is essential for elucidating the study, we conducted a comparative transcriptome analysis of three tissues, hepatopancreas, gill, and muscle, of the Chinese shrimp (Fenneropenaeus chinensis) under heat stress conditions. The results reveal that the three tissues exhibit distinct gene expression patterns, which may imply a certain degree of interaction or coordination among them. Specifically, under heat stress, genes related to amino acid synthesis and utilization were down-regulated in both hepatopancreas and gill, leading to the inhibition of various metabolic pathways including carbohydrates, lipids, amino acids, and nucleic acid metabolism. However, in the muscle, genes related to protein synthesis and energy-consuming processes, including heat shock proteins (HSPs) and muscle proteins, were up-regulated accompanied by an increase in protein content. In the gill, 16.2% of the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) which were related to the cytoskeleton were significantly down-regulated. These results suggest that, in the hepatopancreas and gill, energy flow was inhibited towards synthetic reactions, particularly amino acid synthesis, as characterized by a decrease in protein content to conserve energy. This conserved energy is then reallocated to muscle for increased protein synthesis to maintain muscle function to cope with heat stress. This research not only provides comprehensive insights into the molecular mechanisms of F. chinensis in response to heat stress but also lays a foundation for understanding the strategies employed by thermosensitive marine invertebrates to adapt to high temperature environments.