Larimichthys crocea

About: Larimichthys crocea is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 531 publications have been published within this topic receiving 4991 citations.

Genome sequencing of the perciform fish Larimichthys crocea provides insights into molecular and genetic mechanisms of stress adaptation.

Abstract: The large yellow croaker Larimichthys crocea (L. crocea) is one of the most economically important marine fish in China and East Asian countries. It also exhibits peculiar behavioral and physiological characteristics, especially sensitive to various environmental stresses, such as hypoxia and air exposure. These traits may render L. crocea a good model for investigating the response mechanisms to environmental stress. To understand the molecular and genetic mechanisms underlying the adaptation and response of L. crocea to environmental stress, we sequenced and assembled the genome of L. crocea using a bacterial artificial chromosome and whole-genome shotgun hierarchical strategy. The final genome assembly was 679 Mb, with a contig N50 of 63.11 kb and a scaffold N50 of 1.03 Mb, containing 25,401 protein-coding genes. Gene families underlying adaptive behaviours, such as vision-related crystallins, olfactory receptors, and auditory sense-related genes, were significantly expanded in the genome of L. crocea relative to those of other vertebrates. Transcriptome analyses of the hypoxia-exposed L. crocea brain revealed new aspects of neuro-endocrine-immune/metabolism regulatory networks that may help the fish to avoid cerebral inflammatory injury and maintain energy balance under hypoxia. Proteomics data demonstrate that skin mucus of the air-exposed L. crocea had a complex composition, with an unexpectedly high number of proteins (3,209), suggesting its multiple protective mechanisms involved in antioxidant functions, oxygen transport, immune defence, and osmotic and ionic regulation. Our results reveal the molecular and genetic basis of fish adaptation and response to hypoxia and air exposure. The data generated by this study will provide valuable resources for the genetic improvement of stress resistance and yield potential in L. crocea.

The draft genome of the large yellow croaker reveals well-developed innate immunity

Abstract: The large yellow croaker, Larimichthys crocea, is one of the most economically important marine fish species endemic to China. Its wild stocks have severely suffered from overfishing, and the aquacultured species are vulnerable to various marine pathogens. Here we report the creation of a draft genome of a wild large yellow croaker using a whole-genome sequencing strategy. We estimate the genome size to be 728 Mb with 19,362 protein-coding genes. Phylogenetic analysis shows that the stickleback is most closely related to the large yellow croaker. Rapidly evolving genes under positive selection are significantly enriched in pathways related to innate immunity. We also confirm the existence of several genes and identify the expansion of gene families that are important for innate immunity. Our results may reflect a well-developed innate immune system in the large yellow croaker, which could aid in the development of wild resource preservation and mariculture strategies.

Profile of a fishery collapse: why mariculture failed to save the large yellow croaker

Abstract: The large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea), endemic to East Asia was once one of the three top commercial marine fishes of China PR. Heavily exploited since the 1950s, wild stocks were so severely depleted by the 1980s that most individuals subsequently sold originated from hatcheries. After peaking at about 200 000 tonnes in the mid-1970s, catches of the croaker in China PR declined by over 90% within just 2 decades; according to most decline criteria this would categorize the croaker as “threatened” and management measures, including restocking, were developed. The extensive government-sponsored mariculture program introduced to address food supply and overfishing in the 1980s, particularly of the croaker, was one of the earliest for marine finfish, not only in China PR, a nation with a rich and highly successful history in aquaculture, but globally. In this first, in-depth, profile of a key fishery and early mariculture development, we integrate ecological and biological information with the fishing, management, mariculture and economic history to trace the collapse of wild stocks and assess why management and mariculture did not result in wild stock recovery. Evidence strongly suggests that a combination of heavy exploitation of spawning and over-wintering aggregations, poor management and overfishing pressure were major factors in stock declines, with contributions from pollution, habitat degradation and marine ecosystem shift. Although the croaker proved a highly successful mariculture candidate, with approximately 70 000 tonnes produced in 2005, the highest of any marine fish cultured in China PR, mariculture and restocking have failed to restore croaker stocks and may have, inadvertently, led to biodiversity losses. The detailed history of the croaker is a sobering reminder that successful mariculture, albeit important for food production and livelihoods, is not necessarily a solution to overfishing, and moreover, may have compromised fishery recovery by competing for funds, attention, space, and maybe genetic resources.