Mining of LC-PUFA biosynthesis genes for the miniature fish Paedocypris micromegethes based on RNA-seq transcript

The presence of lipids in aquatic environments is essential for fish health and survival, providing essential fatty acids for growth and development. Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LC-PUFA) is the most important dietary lipid source required for metabolic energy, cellular membrane structure and functions, inflammatory response, vision, neural function, signaling and transcriptional regulation, and reproduction. Paedocypris micromegethes is a tiny endemic cyprinid species found in the acidic (pH 3~5) peat swamp environment. It is intriguing to know how this cyprinid is adapted to survive in such lipid-poor conditions. To date, no study has been done to identify the pathway of LC-PUFA in fish living in acidic freshwater. Therefore, this endemic miniature cyprinid can potentially become a good model system to discover and examine their LC-PUFA biosynthetic pathway. For this study, de novo transcriptome assembly is carried out to generate complete transcripts in order to discover the potential candidate genes involve in LC-PUFA production.