ANALYSIS OF PIGMENT CELL CHANGES AND CONTROL GENES EXPRESSION IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF BODY COLOR PATTERN OF AMPHIPRION OCELLARIS:I.EMBRYONIC PERIOD
This study recorded 6 developmental stages of the embryonic period of Amphiprion ocellaris with significant changes in pigment cells.The changes in body color and pigment cells at different stages were observed,and the expression of 10 body color-related genes at each developmental stage was detected using fluorescence quantitative PCR.The results showed that during the embryonic period,the color of the entire embryo gradually changed from orange yellow to dark red,black red,black,and finally transparent.The transformation process from larval melanocyte to melanocyte on the surface of the yolk sac was observed.Melanocyte appeared on the surface of the fish during the rollover period,erythrophore appeared during organogenesis period,and iridophore appeared in the eyes and abdomen during hatching.Based on the analysis of fluorescence quantitative PCR results,it was found that the larval melanocyte on the surface of the yolk sac may have developed directly from neural crest cells in the ectoderm,without the need for migration;Ednrb,TYR,and Tbx2b genes played an important role in the formation and development of larval melanocyte,while PAX3,Dct,and Aiml genes were closely related to the differentiation,migration,and formation process of melanocyte;the relative expression level of TYR gene significantly increased during the segmentation period,indicating that TYR gene was involved in the formation of melanocytes during early embryonic development;the Tbx2b gene not only affected the formation of melanocytes,but also had a certain effect on the formation of the heart of A.ocellaris;the Fms gene played an important role in the formation of erythrophore;the expression of Ltk gene was earlier than the appearance of iridophore;correlation analysis revealed interactions between various genes.