Fig. 13. Effect of eyestalk ablation on expression of land crab ecdysone receptor (EcR) and calpains in skeletal muscles. Transcript levels, expressed as log copy number, in claw (A) and thoracic (B) muscles were quantified using real-time PCR. Elongation factor 2 (EF2) mRNA served as an internal standard to normalize the PCR reactions. P-values between means for each gene are given at the top of each graph (N=13 for claw muscle; N=14 for thoracic muscle; see Materials and methods for statistical analysis). In claw muscle, eyestalk ablation, which increases hemolymph ecdysteroid levels, significantly increased the level of EcR and CalpT mRNAs; CalpM and CalpB mRNA levels were unaffected. In thoracic muscle, there was no significant effect of eyestalk ablation on EcR and calpain expression.