Gene expression profiles of gill provide insights into the aerial respiration capacity of the Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis

Aerial respiration is a restricting factor for aquatic species to survive out of water. The Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis, an economic aquatic crustacean species capable of aerial respiration, can survive for a long time out of water. However, the genetic mechanism underlying the aerial respiration of crustacean is still lacking. In this study, we conducted a comparative transcriptome analysis among gill tissues collected from E. sinensis exposed to an environment without water. Results showed that genes associated with moisture maintenance and water transport were upregulated, while genes associated with metabolism and ammonium transmembrane transport were downregulated in E. sinensis out of water. Our results suggested that E. sinensis improves its water-holding capacity and reduces its metabolism by regulating associated genes to maintain effective aerial respiration, and provided valuable genetic resources and novel insights into the hypoxia tolerance and aerial respiration of crustaceans. This study may also serve as a reference for the commercial transportation of E. sinensis.