Transcriptomic analysis reveals the genes involved in tetrodotoxin (TTX) accumulation, translocation, and detoxification in the pufferfish Takifugu rubripes

Hanyuan Zhang; Peizhen Li; Biyin Wu; Jilun Hou; Jiangong Ren; Youxiu Zhu; Jian Xu; Fei Si; Zhaohui Sun; Xia Liu

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.134962

Transcriptomic analysis reveals the genes involved in tetrodotoxin (TTX) accumulation, translocation, and detoxification in the pufferfish Takifugu rubripes

Chemosphere. 2022 Sep;303(Pt 1):134962. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.134962. Epub 2022 May 14.

Authors

Hanyuan Zhang¹, Peizhen Li², Biyin Wu², Jilun Hou³, Jiangong Ren³, Youxiu Zhu², Jian Xu², Fei Si³, Zhaohui Sun³, Xia Liu³

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Aquatic Genomics, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing Key Laboratory of Fishery Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Beijing, 100141, China. Electronic address: zhanghanyuan@cafs.ac.cn.
² Key Laboratory of Aquatic Genomics, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing Key Laboratory of Fishery Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Beijing, 100141, China.
³ Beidaihe Central Experiment Station, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Qinhuangdao, Hebei, 066100, China.

PMID: 35580645
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.134962

Abstract

Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is a potent marine neurotoxin that exists in a variety of aquatic and terrestrial organisms. Pufferfish in different habitats show great variation in their TTX contents. Exploring the genes involved in TTX metabolism could contribute to our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying TTX accumulation, translocation, and detoxification in pufferfish. In this study, transcriptomic analysis was used to identify the functional genes related to TTX metabolism in the blood, liver, and muscle of the toxic and non-toxic tiger puffer (Takifugu rubripes). A total of 6101 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained after transcriptomic analysis; of these, 2401 were identified in the blood, 2262 in the liver, and 1438 in the muscle. After enrichment analysis, fourteen genes encoding glutathione S-transferases (GSTs), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), thioredoxins (TXNs), superoxide dismutase (SOD), ATP-binding cassettes (ABCs), apolipoproteins (APOs), inhibitors of apoptosis protein (IAP), and solute carrier (SLC), which are mainly antioxidant enzymes, membrane transporters, or anti-apoptotic factors, were revealed in the blood. Thirty-six genes encoding SLCs, ABCs, long-chain-fatty-acid-CoA ligases (ACSLs), interleukin 6 cytokine family signal transducer (IL6ST), endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and heat shock protein family A (Hsp70) were involved in transmembrane transporter activity and innate immune response. Notably, a large number of slc genes were found to play critical and diverse roles in TTX accumulation and translocation in the liver of T. rubripes. Nine genes from the slc, hsp70, complement C5 (c5), acsl, er, and serpin peptidase inhibitor (serpin) gene families were found to participate in the regulation of protein processing and anti-apoptosis. These results reflect the diverse functions of genes closely related to TTX accumulation, translocation, and detoxification in T. rubripes.

Keywords: Differentially expressed genes (DEGs); Gene regulation; Pufferfish; Takifugu rubripes; Tetrodotoxin (TTX).

MeSH terms

Animals
Gene Expression Profiling
Liver / metabolism
Takifugu* / genetics
Takifugu* / metabolism
Tetrodotoxin / metabolism
Transcriptome*

Substances

Tetrodotoxin