Trehalose is an important disaccharide that plays an important role in extreme environmental conditions. Trehalose-6-phosphate synthase (TPS) gene is the key gene for trehalose synthesis in Marsupenaeus japonicus. In this study, a TPS gene was isolated and characterized from M. japonicus. The full-length cDNA of TPS gene of M. japonicus (MjTPS) was 3308 bp, encoding 844 amino acids. The protein of the deduced MjTPS contained a glycol_transf_20 domain and a trehalose_PPase domain. The mRNA expression level of MjTPS was the highest in hepatopancreas. The further analysis found that MjTPS gene expression was up-regulated in a short time under low-salinity and high-nitrite stress, indicating that MjTPS gene had certain resistance to low-salinity and high-nitrite stress. Compared with the control group, both the expression of MjTPS and the trehalose content significantly decreased from 3 h to 24 h after MjTPS gene interference,. After RNAi, the mortality of M. japonicus increased, the expression level of MjTPS and the synthesis of downstream products decreased under low-salinity and high-nitrite stress, and what’s more, the expression of immune genes PMO25, ERP, CD, HSP90, HSP70, HSP60, HMC and CLEC2 were significantly changed, implying that MjTPS might be participated in the immune response of M. japonicus. In addition, MjTPS gene silencing could affect the expression of CHI1 and CHS, suggesting that MjTPS might be involved in molting behavior of M. japonicus. These results provide new information for further studying the function of trehalose-6-phosphate synthase in shrimp.

海藻糖是一种重要的二糖，在极端环境条件下发挥着重要作用。6-磷酸海藻糖合酶(TPS)基因是日本袋鱼合成海藻糖的关键基因。在这项研究中，从M. japonicus 中分离并表征了一个 TPS 基因。M. japonicus TPS基因全长cDNA ( MjTPS )为3308bp，编码844个氨基酸。推导出的MjTPS的蛋白质包含一个乙二醇_transf_20 域和一个海藻糖_PPase 域。MjTPS的mRNA表达水平在肝胰腺中最高。进一步分析发现MjTPS基因在低盐高亚硝酸盐胁迫下短时间内表达上调，说明MjTPS基因对低盐高亚硝酸盐胁迫具有一定的抗性。与对照组相比，MjTPS基因干扰后3-24h，MjTPS的表达和海藻糖含量均显着降低。RNAi后，在低盐度和高亚硝酸盐胁迫下，M. japonicus的死亡率增加，MjTPS的表达水平和下游产物的合成减少，免疫基因PMO25、ERP、CD、HSP90、HSP70、HSP60、HMC和CLEC2发生显着变化，表明MjTPS可能参与了M. japonicus的免疫反应。此外，MjTPS基因沉默可影响CHI1和CHS的表达，提示MjTPS可能参与M. japonicus的蜕皮行为。这些结果为进一步研究海藻糖-6-磷酸合酶在虾体内的功能提供了新的信息。