mTOR is a typical and conserved serine/threonine protein kinase that regulates cell growth and metabolism of organisms. Molting is a fundamental biological process in Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) and is monitored by a series of genes and pathways. The structural and functional characteristics of EsmTOR was investigated to determine the role of mTOR in the molting process of. The intact CDS of EsmTOR is 7449 bp in length and encodes a polypeptide consisting of 2482 amino acids. EsmTOR was expressed in all eight tissues examined during the three molting stages (postmolt, intermolt andpremolt), with levels fluctuating significantly during the molting. RNA interference of EsmTOR significantly delayed molting, indicating that mTOR may be involved in the molting process of E. sinensis. Meanwhile, a substantial downregulation was observed for the expression of upstream genes involved in amino acid transport (EsSLC7A5 and EsVATB) and downstream genes promoting ribosomal protein synthesis (EsS6K1) in the mTOR signaling pathway, as well as typical molt-related genes (EsMIH and EsEcR) after EsmTOR RNAi treatment. In addition, EsRheb, a molecular marker for tissue growth, was also significantly down-regulated. This study suggests that EsmTOR plays a fundamental role in molting regulation through the SLC7A5-V-ATPase-mTORC1 gene network.

mTOR 是一种典型且保守的丝氨酸/苏氨酸蛋白激酶，可调节生物体的细胞生长和代谢。蜕皮是中华绒螯蟹（Eriocheir sinensis）的基本生物学过程，受一系列基因和通路的监控。研究了EsmTOR的结构和功能特性，以确定 mTOR 在蜕皮过程中的作用。EsmTOR的完整 CDS长 7449 bp，编码由 2482 个氨基酸组成的多肽。EsmTOR在三个蜕皮阶段（后蜕皮、中间蜕皮和前蜕皮）检查的所有八种组织中均表达，在蜕皮期间水平波动显着。EsmTOR 的RNA 干扰显着延迟蜕皮，表明 mTOR 可能参与了E. sinensis的蜕皮过程。同时，mTOR信号通路中参与氨基酸转运的上游基因（EsSLC7A5和EsVATB）和下游促进核糖体蛋白合成的基因（EsS6K1）以及典型的蜕皮相关基因（EsMIH和EsEcR ) 在EsmTOR RNAi 处理后。此外，组织生长的分子标志物EsRheb也显着下调。该研究表明EsmTOR 通过 SLC7A5-V-ATPase-mTORC1 基因网络在蜕皮调节中发挥重要作用。