Response of cyprid specific genes to natural settlement cues in the barnacle Balanus (=Amphibalanus) amphitrite

Hongfei Li, Vengatesen Thiyagarajan, Pei-Yuan Qian

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

Quantitative real-time PCR was used to further our understanding of the molecular processes involved in the attachment and metamorphosis of larval barnacles. We report the effects of natural settlement cues (microbial biofilms and conspecific settlement-inducing factor) on the expression profiles of six barnacle cyprid specific (bcs) genes in cyprids of the barnacle Balanus (=Amphibalanus) amphitrite Darwin. Genes bcs-1 to bcs-5 all showed marked decreases in their expression between initial cyprid attachment and the completion of metamorphosis, whereas bcs-6 showed significant up-regulation. Generally, settlement cues exerted no significant effect on the decreasing trend of bcs-1 to bcs-5 expression during attachment and metamorphosis. However, the expression of bcs-6 increased prior to cyprid attachment in response to both settlement cues. This elevated expression of bcs-6 gene indicates the importance and key regulatory role of this specific gene to larval attachment and metamorphosis in this barnacle species. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)45-52
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology
Volume389
Issue number1-2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2010

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