Cloning of a nitric oxide synthase from green shore crab, Carcinus maenas: a comparative study of the effects of eyestalk ablation on expression in the molting glands (Y-organs) of C. maenas, and blackback land crab, Gecarcinus lateralis.

Molting in decapod crustaceans is regulated by ecdysteroids produced by a pair of Y-organs (YOs) located in the cephalothorax. YO ecdysteroidogenesis is suppressed by molt-inhibiting hormone (MIH), a neuropeptide produced in the X-organ of the eyestalk (ES) ganglia. MIH signaling may involve nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and NO-sensitive guanylyl cyclase (GC-I). A full-length cDNA encoding Carcinus maenas NOS (Cm-NOS; 3836 base pairs) of 1164 amino acid residues (estimated mass 131,833 Da) was cloned with 88% identity to Gecarcinus lateralis NOS (Gl-NOS). End-point reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) showed that Cm-NOS was expressed at varying levels in the YO, testis, ovary, hepatopancreas, midgut, hindgut, heart, thoracic ganglion, and skeletal muscle and was not detected in the gill. Immunofluorescence microscopy showed localization of NOS and cGMP in the steroidogenic cells and the surrounding connective tissue layer of the C. maenas YO. ES ablation (ESA) induced molting in G. lateralis; hemolymph ecdysteroid titers increased during premolt and reached a peak of about 400 pg/μL at 20 days and 24 days post-ESA. By contrast, ESA did not induce molting in C. maenas; hemolymph ecdysteroid titers increased about 2-fold (53 to 121 pg/μL) by 3 days post-ESA and remained at that level at 7 days post-ESA. Real time PCR was used to quantify the effects of ESA on the expression of NOS in C. maenas and G. lateralis YOs. ESA caused 32-fold and 5-fold increases in Gl-NOS and Cm-NOS transcripts by 24 days and 7 days post-ESA, respectively, which were correlated with hemolymph ecdysteroid levels. In addition, GC-I catalytic subunit (Gl-GC-Iβ) mRNA level increased 7.4-fold by 24 days post-ESA, but there was no significant effect of ESA on membrane GC (Gl-GC-II) mRNA level. These data indicate that the YO up-regulates NO signaling components in response to withdrawal of ES neuropeptides.