Identification of immune-related genes in adductor muscle tissue of the Japanese scallop Mizuhopecten yessoensis by expressed sequence tags analysis

Abstract

The Japanese scallop Mizuhopecten yessoensis is economically important shellfish in Asia. In this study, a normalized cDNA library of the scallop’s adductor muscle of M. yessoensis was constructed. A total of 3061 unigene were identified. BlastX homology analysis indicated that 1522 of these unigenes were homologues of known genes. Interestingly, based on sequence similarities 49 immune-related genes were identified in the cDNA library of adductor muscle. These unigenes related to immunity were classified into 5 broad groups according to their predicted functions: immune recognition, stress response genes, proteases and protease inhibitors, cell signal transduction factors and other genes. The numerous immune genes discovered in this study may provide us with important information on how to efficiently modulate immune and stress responses to diseases and environmental pressure in mollusks.