Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals the Key Regulatory Pathways of the Gills and Liver of Grass Carp Under High NaHCO3Stress

To elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which grass carp respond to high-concentration NaHCO₃ stress, this study employed RNA-sequencing technology to perform transcriptome analysis on the gill and liver tissues of the treatment group with 30 mmol/L NaHCO₃ and the control group (0 mmol/L). Through sequencing of 12 libraries constructed from 6 gill samples and 6 liver samples, a total of 41.86 GB of high-quality data from gill tissues and 41.49 GB of high-quality data from liver tissues were obtained. The analysis revealed that there were 1223 and 439 significantly differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the gill and liver tissues, respectively, under NaHCO₃ stress. Functional enrichment (GO) analysis indicated that grass carp respond to alkaline stress by regulating biological processes such as protein hydrolysis, ATP-binding activity, and lipid metabolism. Pathway (KEGG) analysis further revealed that immune-related signaling pathways were significantly activated to resist external stress, and the elevation of energy metabolism levels may provide necessary support for the stress-resistance process. This study systematically revealed the molecular adaptation strategies of grass carp in a high-alkali environment, providing an important theoretical basis for the molecular breeding of saline-alkali-tolerant grass carp varieties and the research on stress-resistance mechanisms.