Meeting Abstract

P3.42  Saturday, Jan. 5  Partial sequence of N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase mRNA from the epidermis of the fiddler crab, Uca pugilator MENG, Y.*; ZOU, E.; Department of Biological Science, Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, LA 70310; Department of Biological Science, Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, LA 70310 mengy336@its.nicholls.edu

N-Acetyl-β-glucosaminidase is an exoskeleton-degrading enzyme that exists in the epidermis of crustaceans. Using a primer pair designed on the basis of the consensus regions of N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase mRNAs of other arthropods, the partial sequence, 790 bps in length, of N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase mRNA from epidermal tissue of the fiddler crab, Uca pugilator, was characterized. This partial sequence is of 65% identity to N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase mRNA sequence of the Chinese shrimp, Fenneropenaeus chinensis, and over 50% similar to the N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase mRNA sequences of insects, such as the tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta), the spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana) and the silk moth (Bombyx mori). The inducibility of N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase mRNA in the epidermis by 20-hydroxyecdysone was subsequently investigated using RT-PCR with 18S rRNA as internal control. Our preliminary results indicate that treating Uca pugilator with 20-hydroxyecdysone in vivo can induce N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase mRNA.