Data from: TLR and IMD signaling pathways from Caligus rogercresseyi (Crustacea: Copepoda): in silico gene expression and SNPs discovery

The Toll and IMD signaling pathways represent one of the first lines of innate immune defense in invertebrates like Drosophila. However, for crustaceans like Caligus rogercresseyi, there is very little genomic information and, consequently, understanding of immune mechanisms. Massive sequencing data obtained for three developmental stages of C. rogercresseyi were used to evaluate in silico the expression patterns and presence of SNPs variants in genes involved in the Toll and IMD pathways. Through RNA-seq analysis, which used 20 contigs corresponding to relevant genes of the Toll and IMD pathways, an overexpression of genes linked to the Toll pathway, such as toll3 and Dorsal, were observed in the copepod stage. For the chalimus and adult stages, overexpression of genes in both pathways, such as Akirin and Tollip and IAP and Toll9, respectively, were observed. On the other hand, PCA statistical analysis inferred that in the chalimus and adult stages, the immune response mechanism was more developed, as evidenced by a relation between these two stages and the genes of both pathways. Moreover, 136 SNPs were identified for 20 contigs in genes of the Toll and IMD pathways. This study provides transcriptomic information about the immune response mechanisms of Caligus, thus providing a foundation for the development of new control strategies through blocking the innate immune response.Toll信号通路与IMD信号通路（Toll and IMD signaling pathways）是果蝇等无脊椎动物先天免疫防御的第一道防线之一。然而对于罗杰西氏鱼虱（Caligus rogercresseyi）这类甲壳动物而言，相关基因组信息极度匮乏，因此对其先天免疫机制的认知也极为有限。本研究利用针对罗杰西氏鱼虱三个发育阶段获取的大规模测序数据，通过计算机模拟（in silico）分析了其Toll信号通路与IMD信号通路相关基因的表达模式及单核苷酸多态性（Single Nucleotide Polymorphism，简称SNPs）变异情况。研究针对对应两条通路相关基因的20个重叠群（contigs）开展RNA测序（RNA Sequencing，简称RNA-seq）分析，结果显示桡足幼体阶段中Toll通路相关基因（如toll3与Dorsal）呈现过度表达现象。在chalimus期与成虫阶段，则分别观测到两条通路相关基因的过度表达：chalimus期涉及Akirin与Tollip，成虫阶段则涉及IAP与Toll9。另一方面，主成分分析（Principal Component Analysis，简称PCA）统计结果表明，chalimus期与成虫阶段的免疫应答机制更为成熟，这可由这两个发育阶段与两条通路基因间的显著关联得到佐证。此外，本研究在两条通路相关基因的20个重叠群中共鉴定出136个SNPs位点。本研究提供了罗杰西氏鱼虱免疫应答机制的转录组学信息，为通过阻断先天免疫通路开发新型防治策略奠定了理论基础。