Dopamine mediates the link between aggressive behavior and biogenic amine receptor genes in mud crab <italic style="font-style: italic">Scylla paramamosain</italic>

Yuanyuan FU; Xinlian HUANG; Lei LIU; Wei ZHAI; Sixiang WANG; Congying HE

doi:10.1007/s00343-025-4176-3

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Dopamine mediates the link between aggressive behavior and biogenic amine receptor genes in mud crab Scylla paramamosain

Aquaculture and Fisheries | Updated：2025-10-16

- Dopamine mediates the link between aggressive behavior and biogenic amine receptor genes in mud crab Scylla paramamosain
- Dopamine mediates the link between aggressive behavior and biogenic amine receptor genes in mud crab Scylla paramamosain
- 海洋湖沼学报(英文) 2025年43卷第5期页码：1654-1667
- Affiliations：
  
  1.School of Marine Sciences, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315832, China
  2.Ningbo Institute of Oceanography, Ningbo 315832, China
- Author bio：
  
  liulei1@nbu.edu.cn
- Funds：
  
  the National Key RD Program of China(2023YFD2401005);the Key RD Program of Ningbo(2022Z059);the K. C. Wong Magna Fund of Ningbo University
- DOI：10.1007/s00343-025-4176-3
  中图分类号：
- 收稿：2024-09-06，
  
  录用：2024-10-24，
  
  网络首发：2024-12-16，
  
  纸质出版：2025-09-01
- Accepted：
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Dopamine mediates the link between aggressive behavior and biogenic amine receptor genes in mud crab Scylla paramamosain[J]. 海洋湖沼学报(英文), 2025,43(5):1654-1667.

FU Yuanyuan,HUANG Xinlian,LIU Lei,et al.Dopamine mediates the link between aggressive behavior and biogenic amine receptor genes in mud crab Scylla paramamosain[J].Journal of Oceanology and Limnology,2025,43(05):1654-1667.
Dopamine mediates the link between aggressive behavior and biogenic amine receptor genes in mud crab Scylla paramamosain[J]. 海洋湖沼学报(英文), 2025,43(5):1654-1667. DOI： 10.1007/s00343-025-4176-3.

FU Yuanyuan,HUANG Xinlian,LIU Lei,et al.Dopamine mediates the link between aggressive behavior and biogenic amine receptor genes in mud crab Scylla paramamosain[J].Journal of Oceanology and Limnology,2025,43(05):1654-1667. DOI： 10.1007/s00343-025-4176-3.

摘要

Abstract

Intraspecific conflict induced by the innate aggressiveness is one of the main reasons for the extremely low survival rate in mud crab

Scylla

paramamosain

aquaculture

which have impeded the sustainable culture of the species. In this study

we first classified and quantified the aggressive behavior

and established a crab aggressive behavior model

laying the foundation for subsequent research on evaluating combat intensity. The contents of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)

dopamine (DA)

and cAMP in the hemolymph of the mud crabs before and after fighting were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS)

and the mud crabs exhibited a significant increase of 5-HT (

0.05)

while the DA and cAMP decreased significantly (

0.05). In addition

we applied EthoVision to examine the changes of the crab behavior after DA administration. After 0.5 h of injection

the movement speed

distance

duration of aggressive behavior

and intensity of aggression in the high concentration DA group were significantly higher than those in the saline injection group and the untreated control group (

0.05). The results of real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis showed that the expression of DA1 in the thoracic ganglia of the mud crabs was significantly down-regulated in the DA injection group

and the aggressive behavior was weakened. Conversely

DA1 expression was up-regulated when aggressive behavior was strengthened. Besides

there were significant differences in the expression levels of receptor expression genes including

5-HT1

5-HT2

and crustacean hyperglycemic hormone (CHH) in different tissues

indicating that the alteration of aggressive behavior of the mud crab after injection with different concentrations of DA could be regulated by changes in the expression levels of corresponding receptor genes. Our results contribute to a deeper analysis of the aggressive behavior mechanism of the mud crabs and provide a theoretical basis for reducing fighting-related mortalities in aquaculture.

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Dopamine mediates the link between aggressive behavior and biogenic amine receptor genes in mud crab Scylla paramamosain

Dopamine mediates the link between aggressive behavior and biogenic amine receptor genes in mud crab Scylla paramamosain

DOI：10.1007/s00343-025-4176-3

摘要

Abstract

关键词

Keywords

references