biostudies-literatureUnknown16(3)Huang FPearl culture has long been a major global industry. As a significant global producer, China mainly produces pearls from the freshwater mussel (<i>Sinohyriopsis cumingii</i>). <i>S. cumingii</i> with various shell colors can produce pearls of different colors; for example, mussels with a blue-white shell can produce white pearls, while those with a purple shell can produce light-purple pearls. Therefore, investigating the molecular genetics of shell color variation in <i>S. cumingii</i> can advance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying differences in shell and pearl coloration in these mussels. In this study, we selected juvenile <i>S. cumingii</i> with four differently colored inner shells and collected tissue samples for transcriptomic analysis. The results showed that many key Animals : an open access journal from MDPI416https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC12897141biostudies-literatureTranscriptome Analysis of Differentially Expressed Genes in Freshwater Pearl Mussel (<i>Sinohyriopsis cumingii</i>) with Four Different Shell Colors.PMC12897141Huang FXing JTang JTang ZLiang XLou BJiang QYang QXu YZhu SfalseTranscriptome Analysis of Differentially Expressed Genes in Freshwater Pearl Mussel (<i>Sinohyriopsis cumingii</i>) with Four Different Shell Colors.Pearl culture has long been a major global industry. As a significant global producer, China mainly produces pearls from the freshwater mussel (<i>Sinohyriopsis cumingii</i>). <i>S. cumingii</i> with various shell colors can produce pearls of different colors; for example, mussels with a blue-white shell can produce white pearls, while those with a purple shell can produce light-purple pearls. Therefore, investigating the molecular genetics of shell color variation in <i>S. cumingii</i> can advance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying differences in shell and pearl coloration in these mussels. In this study, we selected juvenile <i>S. cumingii</i> with four differently colored inner shells and collected tissue samples for transcriptomic analysis. The results showed that many key 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z2026 Jan2026-07-07T03:13:21.928Z2026-07-07T03:08:34.247ZS-EPMC128971414168139710.3390/ani16030416