Temperature is a critical environmental factor influencing physiological homeostasis and immune function in poikilothermic fish. Recent increases in seawater temperature associated with climate change have become a major threat to marine aquaculture b...
Temperature is a critical environmental factor influencing physiological homeostasis and immune function in poikilothermic fish. Recent increases in seawater temperature associated with climate change have become a major threat to marine aquaculture by increasing disease susceptibility and mortality in cultured fish species, including black rockfish (Sebastes schlegelii). Nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-containing proteins, NOD1 and NOD2, are intracellular pattern recognition receptors that play essential roles in innate immune responses. However, their molecular characteristics and responses to high-temperature stress in black rockfish remain poorly understood. Therefore, this study aimed to characterize the NOD1 (SsNOD1) and NOD2 (SsNOD2) genes in S. schlegelii and investigate their expression profiles under high-temperature stress and bacterial infection.
Full-length cDNA sequences of SsNOD1 and SsNOD2 were successfully cloned and characterized. Both proteins exhibited the conserved tripartite domain architecture typical of NLR family members, consisting of CARD, NACHT, and LRR domains, together with conserved ATP-binding and hydrolysis motifs within the NACHT domain. A teleost-specific sequence variation was identified in the LRR region of NOD2, and phylogenetic analysis confirmed that SsNOD1 and SsNOD2 clustered with their respective vertebrate orthologs.
Basal expression analysis revealed that both genes were constitutively expressed in all examined tissues but displayed distinct tissue-specific expression patterns. SsNOD1 showed the highest expression in the spleen, whereas SsNOD2 was most highly expressed in the gill. Under bacterial challenge and combined high-temperature and bacterial challenge conditions, transcript levels of both genes were rapidly induced, reaching their highest levels at 24 h post-treatment (HPT) before gradually declining. In contrast, exposure to high temperature alone resulted in a delayed transcriptional response, characterized by relatively low expression at 48 HPT followed by increased expression at 96 HPT. Furthermore, bacterial infection induced significantly higher expression of both genes in the gill than combined treatment at 24 HPT, whereas no apparent difference between the two treatments was observed in the spleen, suggesting tissue-specific regulation of NOD-mediated immune responses under multiple stress conditions.
These findings indicate that SsNOD1 and SsNOD2 are involved not only in innate immune responses against bacterial infection but also in transcriptional responses to high-temperature stress. Moreover, elevated temperature appears to modulate NOD1- and NOD2-mediated immune responses in a tissue-dependent manner. This study provides fundamental insights into the molecular characteristics and regulatory mechanisms of NOD1 and NOD2 in black rockfish and contributes to a better understanding of immune regulation under concurrent environmental and pathogenic stress