Cloning of notch1 and its role in the growth and development of Exopalaemon carinicauda

The Notch signaling pathway plays important roles in cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. To explore the regulatory mechanism of the Notch signaling pathway in the growth and development of crustaceans, notch1 was cloned from Exopalaemon carinicauda by 5′/3′ RACE and its roles in growth and development were studied by qPCR, RNA interference and in situ hybridization. The results showed that the full-length cDNA of notch1 in E. carinicauda was 7868 bp in length, encoding a total of 2504 amino acids, with a predicted molecular weight of 650.7 kDa and a theoretical isoelectric point of 5.38. Notch1 was expressed in all tested tissues, with the highest expression in the ovary. The expression of notch1 in the RNA interference group was significantly lower than that in the control group between 12 and 48 h post-notch1 interference. The expression levels of key genes in the Notch signaling pathway, including jagged, delta and strawberry notch1 (sbno1); genes related to growth and development including chh, gih and mih; and genes related to ovary development including vitellogenin and cathepsin L, decreased significantly between 12 and 24 h post-notch1 interference and were significantly lower than that in the control. In situ hybridization showed that notch1 was highly expressed on both follicles and the cell membrane. The results showed that notch1 was involved in the growth and development of E. carinicauda, especially in the development of ovaries. This study elucidates growth and development mechanism of crustaceans and provides a theoretical basis for the molecular breeding of E. carinicauda.