Queen conch (Strombus gigas) testis regresses during the reproductive season at nearshore sites in the Florida Keys

• Published in: PloS one 2010-09, Vol.5 (9), p.e12737
• Main Authors: Spade, Daniel J, Griffitt, Robert J, Liu, Li, Brown-Peterson, Nancy J, Kroll, Kevin J, Feswick, April, Glazer, Robert A, Barber, David S, Denslow, Nancy D
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Aplysia; Atrophy; Biological activity; Biomphalaria glabrata; Cellular signal transduction; Complementary DNA; Copper; Coral reefs; Digenea; Disruption; DNA microarrays; Echinostoma; Ecosystems; Electron transport; Environmental factors; Failure; Fisheries; Florida; Gastropoda; Gastropoda - genetics; Gastropoda - growth & development; Gastropoda - physiology; Gastropods; Gene expression; Gene Expression Profiling; Gene regulation; Genes; Genetics and Genomics/Functional Genomics; Genetics and Genomics/Gene Expression; Genomic libraries; Genomics; Guanosine triphosphatases; Guanosinetriphosphatase; Haliotis; Heavy metals; Histology; Inductively coupled plasma; Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry; Inhibition; Male; Marine and Aquatic Sciences/Bioinformatics; Marine and Aquatic Sciences/Fisheries; Marine and Aquatic Sciences/Genetics, Genomics, and Barcoding; Mass spectrometry; Mass spectroscopy; Molecular Biology/Bioinformatics; Molecular modelling; Mollusca; Mollusks; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; Pathogens; Physiology; Physiology/Genomics; Physiology/Reproductive Physiology; Platyhelminthes; Polymerase chain reaction; Regression analysis; Reproduction; Reproductive failure; Reverse transcription; Schistosoma; Schistosoma japonicum; Schistosoma mansoni; Scientific imaging; Seasons; Shellfish; Signal processing; Signal transduction; Signaling; Spermatogenesis; Strombus gigas; Testes; Testis - growth & development; Testis - metabolism; Tissues; Toxicology; Transcription (Genetics); Transcription, Genetic; Transduction; Wildlife conservation; Zinc
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0012737

Queen conch (Strombus gigas) reproduction is inhibited in nearshore areas of the Florida Keys, relative to the offshore environment where conchs reproduce successfully. Nearshore reproductive failure is possibly a result of exposure to environmental factors, including heavy metals, which are likely to accumulate close to shore. Metals such as Cu and Zn are detrimental to reproduction in many mollusks. Histology shows gonadal atrophy in nearshore conchs as compared to reproductively healthy offshore conchs. In order to determine molecular mechanisms leading to tissue changes and reproductive failure, a microarray was developed. A normalized cDNA library for queen conch was constructed and sequenced using the 454 Life Sciences GS-FLX pyrosequencer, producing 27,723 assembled contigs and 7,740 annotated transcript sequences. The resulting sequences were used to design the microarray. Microarray analysis of conch testis indicated differential regulation of 255 genes (p