NMDAR-CaMKII Pathway As a Central Regulator of Aggressiveness: Evidence from Transcriptomic and Metabolomic Analysis in Swimming Crabs

Overview

Journal Int J Mol Sci

Publisher MDPI

Specialties Biochemistry
Chemistry
Molecular Biology

Date 2024 Dec 17

PMID 39684272

Authors

Qihang Liang

Dapeng Liu

Boshan Zhu

Fang Wang

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Aggressiveness is one of the personality traits of crustaceans, playing a crucial role in their growth, life history, and adaptability by influencing resource acquisition. However, the neuroregulatory mechanisms of aggressiveness in crustaceans remain poorly understood. The thoracic ganglion offers valuable insights into complementary aspects of aggression control. This study identified the aggressiveness of swimming crabs , conducted transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses of the thoracic ganglia, and confirmed the neural regulatory effects on aggressiveness. Behavioral analyses showed that highly aggressive individuals exhibited increased frequency and duration of chela extension, more frequent attacks, approaches and retreats, as well as extended movement distances. Omics analysis revealed 11 key candidate genes and three metabolites associated with aggressiveness, which were primarily enriched in pathways related to energy metabolism and neurodegeneration. Injection of an NMDAR activator significantly decreased aggressiveness in highly aggressive crabs, accompanied by a significant increase in NMDAR protein fluorescence intensity and downregulation of , , and genes. Conversely, when lowly aggressive crabs were injected with an NMDAR inhibitor, they showed increased aggressiveness alongside significantly decreased NMDAR protein fluorescence intensity, upregulated expression, and downregulated and genes. These results suggest that NMDAR within the thoracic ganglia serves as a key receptor in modulating aggressiveness in , potentially by influencing neural energy state via the NMDAR-CaMKII pathway, which in turn affects oxidative phosphorylation, cAMP, and FoxO pathways.

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