Inadequate gonadal maturation and poor spawning performance increasingly threaten the sustainability of shrimp aquaculture. Unraveling the mechanisms regulating ovarian development and maturation hence is critical to address industry challenges. Vitellogenin (Vtg), a precursor of yolk protein found in the hepatopancreas and ovary of shrimp, plays a key role in facilitating shrimp’s oocyte maturation and embryonic development after oviposition. This study found that FpVtg was specifically expressed in F. penicillatus hepatopancreas and ovary. FpVtg was localized predominantly in the oocyte cytoplasm and distributed uniformly in the hepatopancreas tissue. Silencing FpVtg led to apoptosis in both hepatopancreas and ovary tissues. Furthermore, FpVtg depletion upregulated the expression of ovarian peritrophin 1, ovarian peritrophin 2, serine proteinase inhibitor 6, and juvenile hormone esterase-like carboxylesterase 1, while downregulated that of vitellogenin, delta-9 desaturase, and insulin-like receptor. KEGG pathway analysis implicated such as PI3K-AKT signaling, RNA transport, ECM-receptor interaction, hippo signaling, oocyte meiosis, and apoptosis were enriched and involved in ovarian development. These findings have provided insights into the FpVtg’s reproductive role and the associated regulatory genes and pathways in F. penicillatus. This knowledge can contribute to establishing strategies to improve the breeding and aquaculture production of F. penicillatus by elucidating its vitellogenesis regulation in redtail prawn and other penaeid species. Further characterization of the implicated pathways and genes will clarify the intricacies underlying ovarian maturation.

性腺成熟不足和产卵性能差日益威胁着虾类养殖的可持续性。因此，解开调节卵巢发育和成熟的机制对于解决行业挑战至关重要。卵黄蛋白原 (Vtg) 是虾肝胰腺和卵巢中发现的卵黄蛋白前体，在促进虾产卵后卵母细胞成熟和胚胎发育中发挥着关键作用。本研究发现FpVtg在F. penicillatus肝胰腺和卵巢中特异性表达。FpVtg主要位于卵母细胞细胞质中，均匀分布在肝胰腺组织中。沉默FpVtg会导致肝胰腺和卵巢组织凋亡。此外，FpVtg耗竭上调了卵巢周营养蛋白 1、卵巢周营养蛋白 2、丝氨酸蛋白酶抑制剂 6和保幼激素酯酶样羧酸酯酶 1的表达，同时下调了卵黄蛋白原、delta-9 去饱和酶和胰岛素样受体的表达。KEGG 通路分析丰富了 PI3K-AKT 信号传导、RNA 转运、ECM-受体相互作用、河马信号传导、卵母细胞减数分裂和细胞凋亡等，并参与卵巢发育。这些发现为了解Fp​​Vtg在F. penicillatus中的繁殖作用以及相关的调控基因和途径提供了见解。这些知识有助于通过阐明红尾虾和其他对虾物种的卵黄发生调节来制定改善长毛对虾的育种和水产养殖产量的策略。对相关途径和基因的进一步表征将阐明卵巢成熟的复杂性。