Study of the Differentially Expressed Genes in the Pomacea canaliculata Transcriptome after Treatment with Pedunsaponin A

Abstract

Transcriptomes, genomes, and proteomes have played important roles in the search for drug targets. To determine the molluscicidal mechanism of pedunsaponin A against Pomacea canaliculata, RNA-seq technology was adopted to analyze the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the P. canaliculata transcriptome after treatment with pedunsaponin A. As a result, 533 DEGs were identified, among which 255 genes were significantly upregulated and 278 genes were significantly downregulated. According to the analysis of Gene Ontology (GO) functions, we found that the DEGs were significantly enriched in the viral life cycle, UDP-glucose 4-epimerase activity, guanylate cyclase activity, the cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) biosynthetic process, and the cGMP metabolic process. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway results showed that the DEGs were mainly involved in the hedgehog signaling pathway, phagosome, cytosolic DNA-sensing pathway, retinoic acid-inducible gene I like (RIG-I-like) receptor signaling pathway, bacterial secretion system, and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappa B) signaling pathway. The above results indicated that pedunsaponin A causes a metabolic disorder, anomalous opening of membrane ion channels, and an imbalance in osmotic pressure between the interior and exterior of cells, eventually resulting in the death of cells involved in immune defense and influencing the immune response of P. canaliculata.