Dataset for: Light-dependent expression of a Na+/H+ exchanger 3-like transporter in the ctenidium of the giant clam, Tridacna squamosa, can be related to increased H+ excretion during light-enhanced calcification

Na+/H+ exchangers (NHEs) regulate intracellular pH and ionic balance by mediating H+ efflux in exchange for Na+ uptake in a 1:1 stoichiometry. This study aimed to obtain from the ctenidium of the giant clam Tridacna squamosa (TS) the complete cDNA sequence of a NHE3-like transporter (TSNHE3), and to determine the effect of light exposure on its mRNA expression level and protein abundance therein. The coding sequence of TSNHE3 comprised 2886 bp, encoding 961 amino acids with an estimated molecular mass of 105.7 kDa. Immunofluorescence microscopy revealed that TSNHE3 was localized to the apical membrane of epithelial cells of the ctenidial filaments and the tertiary water channels. Particularly, the apical immunofluorescence of the ctenidial filaments was consistently stronger in the ctenidium of clams exposed to 12 h of light than those of the control kept in darkness. Indeed, light induced significant increases in the transcript level and protein abundance of TSNHE3/TSNHE3 in the ctenidium, indicating that the transcription and translation of TSNHE3/TSNHE3 were light-dependent. As light-enhanced calcification generates H+, the increased expression of TSNHE3/TSNHE3 in the ctenidium could be a response to augment H+ excretion in pursuance of whole-body acid-base balance during light exposure. These results signify that shell formation in giant clams requires the collaboration between the ctenidium, which is a respiratory and iono-regulatory organ, and the inner mantle, which is directly involved in the calcification process, and provide new insights into the mechanisms of light-enhanced calcification in giant clams

Dataset for: Carbonic Anhydrase 2-like in the giant clam, <i>Tridacna squamosa</i>: characterization, localization, response to light, and possible role in the transport of inorganic carbon from the host to its symbionts

The fluted giant clam, <i>Tridacna squamosa</i>, lives in symbiosis with zooxanthellae which reside extracellularly inside a tubular system. Zooxanthellae fix inorganic carbon (C_i) during insolation and donate photosynthate to the host. Carbonic anhydrases catalyze the interconversion of CO₂ and HCO₃^-, of which carbonic anhydrase 2 (CA2) is the most ubiquitous and involved in many biological processes. This study aimed to clone a <i>CA2</i> homolog (<i>CA2-like</i>) from the fleshy and colorful outer mantle as well as the thin and whitish inner mantle of <i>T. squamosa</i>, to determine its cellular and subcellular localization, and to examine the effects of light exposure on its gene and protein expression levels. The cDNA coding sequence of <i>CA2-like</i> from <i>T. squamosa</i> comprised 789 bp, encoding 263 amino acids with an estimated molecular mass of 29.6 kDa. A phenogramic analysis of the deduced CA2-like sequence denoted an animal origin. CA2-like was not detectable in the shell-facing epithelium of the inner mantle adjacent to the extrapallial fluid. Hence, CA2-like is unlikely to participate directly in light-enhanced calcification. By contrast, the outer mantle, which contains the highest density of tertiary tubules and zooxanthellae, displayed high level of <i>CA2-like</i> expression, and CA2-like was localized to the tubule epithelial cells. More importantly, exposure to light induced significant increases in the protein abundance of CA2-like in the outer mantle. Hence, CA2-like could probably take part in the increased supply of inorganic carbon (C_i) from the host clam to the symbiotic zooxanthellae when the latter conduct photosynthesis to fix C_i during light exposure