Transcriptomic analysis of polychaete-enhanced testicular maturation in male broodstock of the black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon)

The study aimed to determine effect of polychaetes as a shrimp feed on male reproductive maturation at transcriptional level through a cDNA microarray in the black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon). Thus, the experiment was to compare transcriptomic profiles of two different parts of reproductive organs, namely testes (TT) and vas deferens (VD), of domesticated 17-month-old between two different feeds, namely commercial pellet and polychaetes after feeding for one month. Differentially expressed genes were identified through the microarray analysis, and the microarray results were confirmed by real-time PCR. Selected genes were further characterized. A cDNA microarray was constructed from the EST libraries of P. monodon, consisting of 5,973 features. RNA samples were extracted from TT and VD of before feeding (week 0; w0) and after feeding with commercial pellet (C) and polychaetes (P) for one month (week 4; w4) from Shrimp Genetic Improvement Center , Thailand. The RNA from week 0 were labeled with Cy3 dye as a reference and those from week 4were labeled with Cy5 dye.