Role and function of the in early sex differentiation in chicken () embryo.

Mono-Sex culturing is an important methodology for intensive livestock and poultry production. Here, was identified as a potential key gene in sex-determination process in chickens via RNA-seq. Then we developed an effective method to interfere or overexpress in chicken embryos through the intravascular injection. QRT-PCR, ELISA and H&E staining were used to detect the effects of on gonadal development of chicken embryos. Results showed that exhibited a female-biased expression pattern in the early stage of PGCs (primordial germ cells) in embryonic gonads. The qRT-PCR analysis showed that , in females were upregulated under the overexpression of , while and were downregulated . Overexpression of can promote the development of gonadal cortex, while interference with show the opposite result. Additionally, we found that overexpression of the in male chicken embryos could inhibit androgen levels and increase estrogen levels. On the other hand, interfering with in female chicken embryos decreased estrogen levels and increased androgen levels. In conclusion, this work sets the basis for the understanding of the molecular regulatory network for the sex-determination process in chicken embryos as well as providing the theoretical basis for mono-sex culturing of poultry.