Hox基因Ubx/Abd-A在拟穴青蟹幼体腹部变态发育过程中的功能研究

短尾化是短尾下目蟹类独特的生物学过程，涉及腹部的折叠和腹肢退化等。Hox基因被证实控制了节肢动物的体制、翅、体节及附肢等发育过程。项目组前期研究发现，Hox基因Sp-Ubx和Sp-Abd-A在拟穴青蟹腹节中的表达规律与腹肢发生和类型紧密相关，我们提出Sp-Ubx/Sp-Abd-A可能参与了短尾下目蟹类短尾化过程的假设。本项目拟采用qRT-PCR和Western-blot技术探究上述两个基因在拟穴青蟹不同幼体发育阶段腹部中的表达量变化规律，同时，采用整体原位杂交和免疫组化染色技术探明它们在腹部的空间表达特征，进一步结合腹部的重要形态学特征阐释Sp-Ubx/Sp-Abd-A的潜在功能；最后，采用RNA干扰技术阻抑Sp-Ubx/Sp-Abd-A的功能，通过分析它们的时空表达变化与腹节和腹肢变异的协同性，揭示其控制腹部变态发育的生物学功能，为深入研究短尾化机制和Hox基因进化机理提供理论依据。

Brachyurization or short tailing, is a unique biology process of Brachyuran crabs, which involves abdominal folding and pleopod degeneration. Hox gene has been proved to control the development of arthropod system, wings, segments and appendages. We previously found that the expression of Hox gene Sp-Ubx and Sp-Abd-A at the abdominal segments with biramous pleopod was significantly higher than that with uniramous pleopod, considering their known function, we suggests that the short tailing process might be closely related to Sp-Ubx / Sp-Abd-A. In this project, qRT-PCR and Western-blot technique were used to study the changes of mRNA and protein expression of Sp-Ubx / Sp-Abd-A in the abdominal segment and the pleopod at different developmental stages of the larval of Scylla paramamosain. Meanwhile, whole-mount in situ hybridization and immunohistochemical staining technique were used to study the localization of mRNA and protein. Accordingly the potential functions of Sp-Ubx / Sp-Abd-A were analyzed by combining the expression patterns and changes of abdominal segment and the pleopod. Finally, RNAi technology was used to interfere with Sp-Ubx / Sp-Abd-A, after that the correlation between the temporal and spatial expression of genes and the morphological variation of abdominal segment and pleopod was analyzed in order to uncover its biological function in the process of short tailing that should provide theoretical basis for the further study on the mechanism of short tailing and the evolution mechanism of Hox gene.