Integrative Application of Transcriptomics and Metabolomics Provides Insights into Unsynchronized Growth in Sea Cucumber ( Stichopus monotuberculatus )

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 23; no. 24; p. 15478
• Main Authors: Ma, Bo, Liu, Yang, Pan, Wenjie, Li, Zhuobo, Ren, Chunhua, Hu, Chaoqun, Luo, Peng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 07.12.2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Animals; Apoptosis; Aquaculture; Arachidonic acid; Arachidonic Acids - metabolism; Biosynthesis; Coral reefs; Discriminant analysis; Ecosystems; Environmental conditions; Gene expression; Histidine; Holothuroidea; Lipid metabolism; Lipids; Marine environment; Metabolic pathways; Metabolism; Metabolites; Metabolomics; Molecular modelling; Protein biosynthesis; Protein synthesis; Protein turnover; Sea Cucumbers - genetics; Stichopus - genetics; Stichopus - metabolism; Stichopus monotuberculatus; Transcriptome; Transcriptomics; unsynchronized growth; Stichopus monotuberculatus; transcriptomics; unsynchronized growth; metabolomics
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms232415478

Ever-increasing consumer demand for sea cucumbers mainly leads to huge damage to wild sea cucumber resources, including , which in turn exerts negative impacts on marine environments due to the lack of ecological functions performed by sea cucumbers. Aquaculture of sea cucumbers is an effective way to meet consumer demand and restore their resources. Unsynchronous growth is a prominent problem in the aquaculture of sea cucumbers which has concealed unelucidated molecular mechanisms until now. In this study, we carried out an integrative analysis of transcriptomics and metabolomics on fast-growing (SMF) and slow-growing (SMS) groups of cultured in the same environmental conditions. The results revealed that a total of 2054 significantly differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, which are mainly involved in fat digestion and absorption, histidine metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, and glutathione metabolism. 368 differential metabolites (DMs) were screened out between the SMF group and the SMS group; these metabolites are mainly involved in glycerophospholipid metabolism, purine metabolism, biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, pyrimidine metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, and other metabolic pathways. The integrative analysis of transcriptomics and metabolomics of suggested that the SMF group had a higher capacity for lipid metabolism and protein synthesis, and had a more frequent occurrence of apoptosis events, which are likely to be related to coping with environmental stresses. The results of this study provide potential values for the aquaculture of sea cucumbers which may promote their resource enhancement.