Differences in chromatin accessibility and gene expression associated with growth performance in Pacific whiteleg shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei

Litopenaeus vannamei is a species of significant economic importance. In this study, we applied ATAC-seq and RNA-seq to compare shrimp from super-fast growth (SFG) and slow growth (SG) groups to investigate the mechanisms underlying growth performance. Chromatin accessibility was higher in the SFG group than SG group, and a total of 765 differentially accessible regions (DARs) were identified. Promoter-associated analysis of DARs-related genes revealed their predominant involvement in energy metabolism and cell proliferation. Transcriptome analysis indicated that genes related to molting and light reception may contribute to growth performance. Integrated analysis of ATAC-seq and RNA-seq data suggested that chromatin accessibility likely influences growth performance by modulating gene expression in key metabolic pathways, including amino acid metabolism, lipid metabolism, and immunity function. Additionally, LvNAGase was identified as a candidate gene regulating growth performance in L. vannamei.