Screening of genes related to sulfide metabolism in Urechis unicinctus (Echiura, Urechidae) using suppression subtractive hybridization and cDNA microarray analysis

Exogenous sulfide can generally induce metabolic injuries in most organisms and even cause death. However, organisms inhabiting intertidal zones, hydrothermal vents, and cold seeps, can tolerate, metabolize, and utilize sulfide. In this study, both suppression subtractive hybridization and cDNA microarray analysis were employed to screen sulfide metabolism-related genes from the body wall in echiuran worm Urechis unicinctus, a marine sediment species. A total of 3456 monoclones were isolated and 82 were identified as differentially expressed genes in worms exposed to 50 μM sulfide for 24 h, compared to controls. The identified genes encoded proteins with multiple processes, including metabolism, cellular process, biological regulation, response to stimulus, multicellular organismal process, localization, development, and cellular component organization. Eight genes, serase, vacuolar protein, src tyrosine kinase, sulfide oxidase-like oxidoreductase, aprataxin, SN-RNP, aminopeptidase, and predicted protein, were selected to verify expression in the worm using qRT-PCR. The agreement of gene expression evaluation was 62.5% between the results of microarray analysis and qRT-PCR. These new data will provide clues for further probing of the molecular mechanism of sulfide metabolism.