对虾的蜕皮过程伴随着表皮的有序重建，与其生长发育密切相关，表皮重建的紊乱会造成蜕皮不遂或新壳难以硬化等问题，引起对虾滞育乃至死亡。因此对虾表皮重建机制的研究具有重要的理论意义和应用价值。申请人所在研究团队在对凡纳滨对虾全基因组数据挖掘过程中，发现对虾表皮蛋白基因家族发生显著扩张，并且在蜕皮过程中高度有序表达；同时发现对虾存在表皮蛋白调控的关键基因FTZ-F1，其表达时期和表达位置与表皮蛋白基因的表达一致，推测FTZ-F1可能是对虾表皮重建过程中调控表皮蛋白基因有序表达的关键因子。为深入探讨对虾表皮重建的分子机制，本项目拟在前期工作基础上，通过dsRNA干扰、CRISPR/Cas9等手段研究FTZ-F1在对虾表皮重建过程中的作用及对表皮蛋白基因表达的调控机制。本项目的顺利实施，可为阐明对虾乃至甲壳动物表皮重建的分子机制提供重要依据，也为人工管控对虾在养殖中的蜕皮、生长，防止滞育提供理论指导。

The molting process of shrimp is accompanied with the cuticle reconstruction, which is closely related to the growth and development. The disorder of cuticle reconstruction might lead to various phenomena such as uncomplete molting or softness of the newly formed shell, which may result in developmental stasis or even worse, death. Therefore, characterization of cuticle reconstruction is of important theoretical significance and great application potential. Based on the finished Litopenaeus vannamei genome, we found that the gene family of cuticle protein showed significant expansions and a highly ordered type of expression in the molting process. Simultaneously, a key regulatory gene of cuticle protein, FTZ-F1, was presumed to be an important regulator of cuticle proteins’ ordered expression in cuticle reconstruction process according to its expression pattern. To gain an in-depth insight on the molecular mechanism of the cuticle reconstruction, this project aims to study the role of FTZ-F1 gene in the molting process of Litopenaeus vannamei and the transcriptional and regulation effect of FTZ-F1 on the cuticle protein gene basing on prior findings. The techniques to be applied in this project include real time PCR, Western bolt, dsRNA interference, and CRISPR/Cas9. As this project progresses, updated results may help illustrate the molecular mechanism of the development and cuticle reconstruction of shrimp (or even whole Crustaceans) cuticle and will provide theoretical guidance for artificially controlling the developmental process and avoiding developmental stasis in the future.