Life stage-dependent RNA interference in the tropical rock lobster Panulirus ornatus: mechanistic insights from RNA-seq and functional studies

Thomas M. Banks; Susan Glendinning; Avani Bhojwani; Quinn P. Fitzgibbon; Gregory G. Smith; Tomer Ventura

doi:10.1007/s42995-025-00336-3

Back

Life stage-dependent RNA interference in the tropical rock lobster Panulirus ornatus: mechanistic insights from RNA-seq and functional studies

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Life stage-dependent RNA interference in the tropical rock lobster Panulirus ornatus: mechanistic insights from RNA-seq and functional studies

Thomas M. Banks, Susan Glendinning, Avani Bhojwani, Quinn P. Fitzgibbon, Gregory G. Smith and Tomer Ventura

Marine Life Science & Technology, Vol.8, pp.1-15

2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42995-025-00336-3

PMCID: PMC12953842

PMID: 41783568

Files and links (1)

pdf

s42995-025-00336-32.75 MBDownload View

Published Version Open Access CC BY V4.0

Abstract

RNA interference

spiny lobsters

siRNA pathway

transcriptomic analysis

decapod crustaceans

gene silencing mechanism

auaculture biotechnology

RNA interference (RNAi) has emerged as a key molecular tool in various commercially important decapod crustaceans, offering potential biotechnological applications in aquaculture. However, in the tropical rock lobster Panulirus ornatus, gene silencing through RNAi has proven difficult to achieve despite the availability of extensive omics data. This study investigates the RNAi response across life stages in P. ornatus, focusing on larvae and juveniles to determine when the species is most receptive to RNAi. Late-stage phyllosoma larvae and early juveniles were microinjected with dsRNA for the insulin-like growth factor binding protein encoding gene to determine silencing efficiency. Our results show that while juveniles exhibit an efficient systemic RNAi response with robust silencing across tissues, larvae display limited silencing capacity. A key finding is the differential expression of RNAi pathway components, including SID1, which facilitates dsRNA uptake in juveniles but is less active in larvae. Fluorescent microscopy revealed that dsRNA is rapidly sequestered and expelled by the antennal gland in larvae, potentially limiting RNAi efficacy. To further explore the mechanisms underlying RNAi in P. ornatus, RNA-seq analysis was conducted on pleopods collected across time points after dsRNA exposure in juvenile lobsters. Transcriptomic analysis identified significant upregulation of RNAi machinery, including Dicer-2, Argonaute-2, and SID1, which are critical for silencing. Additionally, several genes associated with antiviral responses were differentially expressed, suggesting broader involvement of RNAi in immune regulation. These findings highlight the potential to enhance RNAi strategies in P. ornatus juveniles, advancing the development of RNAi-based tools for disease resistance and productivity in aquaculture.

Details

Title: Life stage-dependent RNA interference in the tropical rock lobster Panulirus ornatus: mechanistic insights from RNA-seq and functional studies
Authors: Thomas M. Banks - University of the Sunshine Coast
Susan Glendinning - University of the Sunshine Coast
Avani Bhojwani - University of the Sunshine Coast
Quinn P. Fitzgibbon - University of Tasmania
Gregory G. Smith - University of Tasmania
Tomer Ventura (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast
Publication details: Marine Life Science & Technology, Vol.8, pp.1-15
Publisher: Springer
Date published: 2026
DOI: 10.1007/s42995-025-00336-3
ISSN: 2662-1746
PMID: 41783568; PMC12953842
Copyright note: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Data Availability: Transcriptome data is openly available in the NCBI SRA database (BioProject #PRJNA1167453) and can also be found on https://crustybase.org/.
Grants: The ARC Research Hub for Sustainable Lobster Aquaculture, IH190100014, Australian Research Council (Australia, Canberra) - ARC
Organisation Unit: School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991214173102621
Output Type: Journal article

Metrics

1 Record Views

InCites Highlights

These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output

Web Of Science research areas: Marine & Freshwater Biology

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

Source: SDGs from InCites