Cadmium-induced oxidative stress, histopathology, and transcriptomic changes in the hepatopancreas of Fenneropenaeus merguiensis

This paper aimed to elucidate the potential mechanisms of cadmium's impact on the hepatopancreas of F. merguiensis through physiological, histological, and transcriptomic analyses. Transcriptomic analysis also indicated that cadmium exposure induced the expression of genes related to detoxification and apoptosis, such as heat shock proteins, metallothionein, and Caspase-3, suggesting it has adverse effects on the normal physiological functions of F. merguiensis. Overall design: Healthy Fenneropenaeus merguiensis were reared at Guangdong Ocean University's Donghai Island Base. They were acclimated for a week in holding tanks with specific water conditions and fed three times daily with a special feed. Water was refreshed daily. The study had two parts: a preliminary trial to find the effect of cadmium chloride at 72-hour LC50 and the main trial. Shrimps were placed in tanks and exposed to varying concentrations of cadmium chloride, 30 shrimps per tank, three tanks for each concentration, totaling 540 shrimps, water and conditions were kept stable, mortality was monitored every 2 hours, and survival rates were noted at 24, 48, and 72 hours. Based on the preliminary results, the main experiment was conducted, shrimps were divided into two groups (30 each, three replicates per concentration, totaling 180 shrimps), and two cadmium concentrations were used: 0.0 mg/L (control) and 0.5 mg/L (72 h-LC50). Experimental conditions remained the same as in the preliminary trial.