Selection of the appropriate reference genes by quantitative real-time PCR in leopard coral groupers Plectropomus leopardus

Leopard coral groupers(Plectropomus leopardus),commercially bred in South China,are a significant economical fish species.In this study,by means of quantitative real-time PCR(qRT-PCR)technology,we assessed the stability of six common reference genes expression and selected the appropriate reference genes in leopard coral groupers with or without Vibrio harveyi stimulation at different time points.These data produced by qRT-PCR was handled via the geNorm,NormFinder,and BestKeeper software.The results revealed all the examined reference genes had manifest tissue-specific expression in different tissues.Prior to V.harveyi stimulation,RPL13 gene was the appropriate reference gene among eleven tissue types(blood,spleen,hepatopancreas,kidney,stomach,gill,heart,skin,muscle,intestine,brain)in leopard coral groupers.Under V.harveyi stimulation,the most reliable reference genes varied from tissue to tissue and were closely hinged upon different time points.At 6-h post-bacterial injection,the appropriate reference genes in hepatopancreas,spleen,kidney,and gill were Actin,B2M,UBCE,and Actin,respectively.At 9-and 12-h post-bacterial injection,the appropriate reference genes in hepatopancreas,spleen,kidney,and gill were RPL13,Actin,Actin,and Actin,respectively.If one reference gene was preferable,RPL13,Actin,Actin,and Actin could be selected as the reference gene in hepatopancreas,spleen,kidney,and gill of leopard coral groupers after V.harveyi infection,respectively.Expression profiles of two target genes(IL-6 and NK-lysin)were used to further validate reliability of these selected appropriate candidates.This study will lay a solid foundation for the future research on qRTPCR analysis of gene expression in leopard coral groupers.