Key Laboratory for Sustainable Development of Marine Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China; Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266235, China.
Key Laboratory for Sustainable Development of Marine Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China; Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266235, China.
Comp Biochem Physiol Part D Genomics Proteomics. 2021 Sep;39:100832. doi: 10.1016/j.cbd.2021.100832. Epub 2021 Apr 9.
The starry flounder (Platichthys stellatus), a flatfish cultured at the margins of the North Pacific, displays an obvious female-biased growth advantage, similar to many other fish species. To reveal the molecular mechanism underlying sexual size dimorphism, a comparative transcriptomic analysis of the somatotropic and reproductive axes was conducted. In total, 156, 67, 3434, and 378 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between female and male samples were obtained in the brain, liver, gonad, and muscle tissues (q < 0.05). These DEGs were significantly enriched for various GO terms, including ion channel activity, protein binding, lipid transporter activity, and glycolytic process. The significantly enriched KEGG pathways included insulin secretion, axon guidance, and glycolysis/gluconeogenesis. In a detailed analysis of DEGs in these significantly enriched pathways, 35 genes showed higher expression levels in female muscle tissues than in male muscle tissues. A protein-protein interaction network further revealed specific interactions involving the glycolysis related-protein enolase (ENO), triosephosphate isomerase (TPI), Bisphosphoglycerate mutase (BPGM), fructose-bisphosphate aldolase (ALDO), and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH). Interestingly, the role of glycolysis/gluconeogenesis was supported by an analysis of common DEGs between P. stellatus and Chinese tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis). These results indicate that the activation of glycolysis in female muscle tissues contributes to flatfish sexual size dimorphism.
星鲽（Platichthys stellatus）是一种在北太平洋边缘养殖的比目鱼，表现出明显的雌性生长优势，与许多其他鱼类相似。为了揭示性别大小二型的分子机制，我们对生长轴和生殖轴进行了比较转录组分析。在大脑、肝脏、性腺和肌肉组织中，分别获得了 156、67、3434 和 378 个雌雄性之间差异表达的基因（DEGs）（q < 0.05）。这些 DEGs 在GO 术语中显著富集，包括离子通道活性、蛋白质结合、脂质转运活性和糖酵解过程。显著富集的 KEGG 途径包括胰岛素分泌、轴突导向和糖酵解/糖异生。在这些显著富集途径中的 DEGs 的详细分析中，有 35 个基因在雌性肌肉组织中的表达水平高于雄性肌肉组织。蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用网络进一步揭示了涉及糖酵解相关蛋白烯醇酶（ENO）、磷酸丙糖异构酶（TPI）、二磷酸甘油酸变位酶（BPGM）、果糖-1,6-二磷酸醛缩酶（ALDO）和甘油醛-3-磷酸脱氢酶（GAPDH）的特定相互作用。有趣的是，糖酵解/糖异生的作用得到了星鲽和中国舌鳎（Cynoglossus semilaevis）之间常见 DEGs 分析的支持。这些结果表明，雌性肌肉组织中糖酵解的激活有助于比目鱼的性别大小二型。
