Functions during Molting of by Regulating 20E Synthesis and Mediating 20E Signaling.

, a member of the nuclear receptor family, has been extensively studied in insect molting and development, but reports on crustaceans are still lacking. In the current study, the gene was identified in . To further improve the molting molecular mechanism of , this study investigated whether functions during the molting process of . The domain, phylogenetic relationship and 3D structure of were analyzed by bioinformatics. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis showed that was highly expressed in the ovary. In different embryo stages, the highest mRNA expression was observed in the cleavage stage (CS). At different individual stages, the mRNA expression of reached its peak on the fifteenth day after hatching (L15). The in vivo injection of 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) can effectively promote the expression of the gene, and the silencing of the gene increased the content of 20E in . The regulatory role of in 20E synthesis and 20E signaling was further investigated by RNAi. Finally, the function of the gene in the molting process of was studied by counting the molting frequency. After knocking down , the molting frequency of decreased significantly. It was proved that plays a pivotal role in the molting process of .