Biotechnology Bulletin ›› 2018, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (8): 50-57.doi: 10.13560/j.cnki.biotech.bull.1985.2018-0098

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Research Progress of Cold Tolerance Mechanism and Functional Genes in Fish

LIU Li-li1, ZHU Hua1, YAN Yan-chun2, WANG Xiao-wen1, ZHANG Rong1, ZHU Jian-ya1   

  1. 1. Beijing Key Laboratory of Fishery Biotechnology,Beijing Fisheries Research Institute,Beijing 100068;
    2. Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences,Beijing 100081
  • Received:2018-01-26 Online:2018-08-26 Published:2018-09-04

Abstract: The ability of fish to adapt to ambient temperature varies broadly,as a result of long-drawn adaptation to habitat environment and evolution. The suffertibility of different fish species to cold stress is the manifestation of the specific expression of genetic information,as well as the reflection of differences in physiological and biochemical performance. Currently,fish physiology responses under low temperature have been in-depth researched while the underlying molecular mechanisms attract increasing interest. The low cost and extensive application of high-throughput sequencing technologies together with bioinformatics analysis allow researchers using omics method to study the metabolic and molecular signaling pathways of the fish under cold stress. The biological molecular mechanisms and related functional genes of fish to cold stress are thus enabled to be further explored. Recent studies prove that many polar fishes have evolved with functional genes gain,loss and large-scale amplification during the long-term adaption to low temperature. The transcription and regulation patterns in fish are conservative to a certain extent while possess obvious specificity in species and tissues under cold stress. Some proteins including antifreeze(glycoprotein)protein,chaperone,metabolic enzyme and transmembrane channel protein are involved in cold-responsive process in fish. However,the corresponding genes characterization and function research remain jagged. This review summarized the molecular mechanisms of fish adaption and tolerance to low temperature from the perspectives of evolution,the genetic expression and epigenetics. Then,cold tolerance related genes were classified and introduced according to their molecular function. Last but not least,we predicted potential research focus in mechanisms,gene mining and application of fish under cold stress,hoping to provide background and reference for researchers and those interested in the field.

Key words: fish, cold stress, genetic evolution, transcriptomics, cold-tolerant genes