Characterization and Expression of the Multicatalytic Protease Subunit(26s Proteasome) During the Reproductive Cycle of the Shrimp (Metapenaeus Ensis)

This dissertation, "Characterization and Expression of the Multicatalytic Protease Subunit(26S Proteasome) During the Reproductive Cycle of the Shrimp (Metapenaeus Ensis)" by Wing-kit, Shek, 石永結, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: Abstract of thesis entitled CHARACTERIZATION AND EXPRESSION OF THE MULTICATALYTIC PROTEASE SUBUNIT (26S PROTEASOME) DURING THE REPRODUCTIVE CYCLE OF THE SHRIMP (Metapenaeus ensis) Submitted by Shek Wing Kit for the degree of Master of Philosophy at The University of Hong Kong in November 2004 The 26S proteasome is a multicatalytic complex (MCP) in the ubiquitin-proteasome degradation pathway. MCP is responsible for the degradation of intracellular proteins (i.e. cyclin) that control mitosis and meiosis during ovary maturation and larval development. In cloning the vitellogenin gene of the shrimp, several partial cDNAs encoding a homologue of the proteasome subunit have been isolated from the ovary. To study the possible involvements of proteasome in the female shrimp maturation and in the larvae development, the proteasome cDNAs have been cloned and characterized. The full-length cDNA of MeC8 is 1,362 bp and consists of the longest open reading frame (ORF) encoded for a protein of 255 amino acid residues. The deduced amino acid sequence of MeC8 is most similar to that of the proteasome of the African claw frog, with similarity over 80%. MeC8 was ubiquitously expressed in the ovary, but the mRNA expression level in the larvae was decreased when they were transformed from nauplius to zoea. On the contrary, the protein level of MeC8 was increased when the larvae were transformed from nauplius to zoea. These results suggest that the proteasome was maternally deposited in the oocytes for larval development. Besides the ovary, proteasome transcripts can also be detected in the eyestalk, muscle, testis, gut and ventral nerve cord. The wide spread expression of proteasome in shrimp was similar to that of other organisms. However, the localization of proteasome in the ovary was quite different from that in other tissues. In maturing oocytes, proteasome was localized in the nucleus while in other tissues such as in muscle, proteasome was detected in the bundle of muscle fibers. In the ventral nerve cord, proteasome was mainly concentrated in the cytoplasm of neurosecretory cells; and in the midgut, proteasome was localized in the cilia of cells in the internal wall lining of the gut. In summary, the presence of proteasome in the ovary indicates its importance in oocyte maturation, during which meiosis takes place. It also shows from immunohistochemical results that there is no or only little change of subunit expression or modification during maturation of ovary. DOI: 10.5353/th_b3119468 Subjects: Proteinase Shrimps - Reproduction Shrimps - Genetics