Molecular identification and expression pattern of three novel Aurora kinases in Macrobrachium rosenbergii (Decapoda, Caridea)

Abstract Aurora kinase is crucial in mitosis and meiosis. Three novel Aurora kinases were identified in Macrobrachium rosenbergii in the present study. There was a highly conserved serine/threonine domain within their C-terminal. Multiple sequence alignment of the serine/threonine domain in Mr-Aurora kinases revealed a high degree of similarity to other representative Aurora kinases. The phylogenetic analysis illustrated that Mr-Aurora A was clustered into a separate branch with the Aurora kinases of Armadillidium nasatum , and Mr-Aurora CA and Mr-Aurora CB were clustered together in a separate branch. Additionally, both Mr-Aurora A and Mr-Aurora CA genes were specifically expressed in the reproductive system. But, Mr-Aurora CB was expressed in a multi-tissue pattern. Furthermore, all Mr-Aurora kinases were expressed throughout embryonic development and showed various levels of expression in different periods. This study can possibly provide a novel highlight to the molecular mechanism of Aurora kinases’ involvement in cell division of reproduction and embryonic development of crustaceans.