E-Institute of Shanghai Universities (EISU) Aquaculture Division and Key Laboratory of Aquatic Genetic Resources and Utilization Certificated by the Ministry of Agriculture, College of Life Science, Shanghai Ocean University, 999 Hucheng Huan Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai, 201306, People's Republic of China.
Dev Genes Evol. 2010 Nov;220(5-6):151-9. doi: 10.1007/s00427-010-0336-2. Epub 2010 Aug 31.
Dmrt is a family of genes related to the sexual regulators Doublesex of Drosophila melanogaster and Mab-3 of Caenorhabditis elegans. Dmrt genes are widely conserved and known for their involvement in sex determination and differentiation across phyla. In this study, we report here the identification of a novel Dmrt gene, named EsDmrt-like, from Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis. EsDmrt-like encodes a protein of 236 amino acids without intron. The protein contains a conserved DNA-binding DM domain that is characteristic of Dmrt genes. The DM domain shares 98% identity with that of Drosophila Dmrt99B and vertebrate Dmrt5, but outside the DM domain, there is little homology in sequence and no other conserved domain such as DMA specific to the Dmrt99B and Dmrt3-5. Interestingly, the expression pattern of EsDmrt-like is quite similar with that of vertebrate Dmrt1. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction showed that EsDmrt-like transcripts were detectable only in testis with much higher expression at immature stage. In situ hybridization to gonad sections indicated that the EsDmrt-like mRNA was exclusively localized in Sertoli cells around the periphery of seminiferous tubules and developing germ cells including spermatogonium, spermatocyte, and spermatid, but absent in spermatozoa. This finding strongly suggests an essential role for EsDmrt-like in the male testicular development/differentiation of the crab.
DMRT 是一类与果蝇的性调节因子 Doublesex 和秀丽隐杆线虫的 Mab-3 相关的基因家族。DMRT 基因广泛保守，已知其参与门之间的性别决定和分化。在这项研究中，我们从中华绒螯蟹（Eriocheir sinensis）中鉴定出一种新的 DMRT 基因，命名为 EsDmrt-like。EsDmrt-like 编码一个 236 个氨基酸的蛋白质，没有内含子。该蛋白含有一个保守的 DNA 结合 DM 结构域，这是 DMRT 基因的特征。DM 结构域与果蝇 Dmrt99B 和脊椎动物 Dmrt5 的相似度为 98%，但在 DM 结构域外，序列同源性很小，没有其他保守结构域，如 DMAB 特异性的 Dmrt99B 和 Dmrt3-5。有趣的是，EsDmrt-like 的表达模式与脊椎动物 Dmrt1 非常相似。逆转录聚合酶链反应显示，EsDmrt-like 转录本仅在睾丸中检测到，在未成熟阶段表达水平较高。原位杂交分析显示，EsDmrt-like mRNA 仅特异性地定位于生精小管周围的支持细胞和发育中的生殖细胞，包括精原细胞、精母细胞和精子细胞，但在精子中不存在。这一发现强烈表明 EsDmrt-like 在螃蟹的雄性睾丸发育/分化中起着重要作用。
