Key Laboratory of Mariculture & Stock Enhancement in North China Sea, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, China.
Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2021 Nov 11;12:756530. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2021.756530. eCollection 2021.
Sea urchin () is an economically important mariculture species in Asia, and its gonads are the only edible part. The efficiency of genetic breeding in sea urchins is hampered due to the inability to distinguish gender by appearance. In this study, we first identified a sex-associated single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) by combining type IIB endonuclease restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (2b-RAD-seq) and genome survey. Importantly, this SNP is located within , a gene specifically expressed in male. Knocking down of by RNA interference (RNAi) in male individuals led to the downregulation of other conserved testis differentiation-related genes and germ cell marker genes. We also revealed that sex ratio in this validated culture population of is not 1:1. Moreover, after a 58-day feeding experiment with estradiol, the expression levels of several conserved genes that are related to testis differentiation, ovary differentiation, and estrogen metabolism were dynamically changed. Taken together, our results will contribute toward improving breeding efficiency, developing sex-controlled breeding, and providing a solid base for understanding sex determination mechanisms in sea urchins.
海胆是亚洲重要的海水养殖经济物种，其生殖腺是唯一可食用部分。由于无法通过外观来区分性别，海胆的遗传育种效率受到阻碍。在本研究中，我们首先通过结合 IIB 型内切酶限制位点相关 DNA 测序（2b-RAD-seq）和基因组普查，鉴定出一个与性别相关的单核苷酸多态性（SNP）。重要的是，该 SNP 位于 内，该基因为雄性特异性表达。在雄性个体中通过 RNA 干扰（RNAi）敲低 ，导致其他保守的睾丸分化相关基因和生殖细胞标记基因下调。我们还揭示了在经过验证的 养殖群体中，性别比例不是 1:1。此外，经过 58 天的雌二醇喂养实验，与睾丸分化、卵巢分化和雌激素代谢相关的几个保守基因的表达水平发生了动态变化。总之，我们的研究结果将有助于提高育种效率、开发性别控制育种，并为理解海胆性别决定机制提供坚实的基础。
