Comparative Transcriptome Analysis of the Abdominal Ganglion Reveals Molecular Networks and Key Genes Underlying Thermal Tolerance in Red Swamp Crayfish (Procambarus clarkii)

Water temperature fluctuations directly affect the feeding, reproduction, and survival of aquatic animals. Understanding the molecular networks that regulate temperature responses is therefore critical for selective breeding of thermotolerant strains. In this study, we first assessed the thermotolerant performances of two Procambarus clarkii populations (selected and normal cultured populations) with contrasting thermal endurance capacities. Temperature stress challenges showed that the selected population exhibited great endurance capacities to both heat and cold stresses. Further comparative transcriptomic analysis showed that cold stress mainly upregulated energy metabolism genes, whereas heat stress affected oxidative stress and membrane-related genes in both populations. However, we found that immune-related pathway genes were significantly downregulated in the selected population in response to heat challenge. Furthermore, heat shock proteins (HSPs), E3 ubiquitination, and autophagy-related genes showed contrasting expression patterns between the thermotolerant and normal cultured populations, suggesting that transcriptional regulations of these signaling pathways may contribute to thermal tolerance. Collectively, these results provide a reference for breeding thermotolerant P. clarkii strains and supporting the sustainable development of the aquaculture industry.