The Genypterus genus contains native species for aquaculture diversification in Chile, including red cusk-eel (Genypterus chilensis), which is aquaculture produced. Previous studies have showed that thermal stress could generate oxidative damage and coding transcriptional modulation in red cusk-eel juveniles. However, the role of non-coding RNA regulation on thermal stress response is unknown. The objective of this work was to determine the effect of thermal stress on non-coding RNA regulation on liver and gills of red cusk-eel.
We use data from a previous assay in which fish were obtained from CIMARQ center and separated on control and stress groups, with a high-temperature protocol for five days in the stress group, determining stress response through increased cortisol levels. We use RNA-seq data to determine previously described long-non coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and novel lncRNAs, determine differential expression of lncRNAs with Deseq2, and determine the enriched process regulated by the differentially expressed lncRNAs in liver and gills due to thermal stress impact.
Thermal stress generates increased cortisol levels in gills (Figure 1A). The RNA-seq analysis of lncRNAs showed more than with 14,614 putative lncRNAs. We observe a total of 1599 differential expressed lncRNAs in liver, with 842 down-regulated and 757 up-regulated (Figure 1B). These results showed that thermal stress generates a relevant lncRNAs regulation in these tissues, showing that stress response in fish is a complex response with the interaction of coding and non-coding response. The negative impact of thermal stress on this species should be considered for sustainable aquaculture production. Funding: CONICYT FONDECYT Postdoctorado 3180283, Programa de Inserción Académica PIA 82510015.