Key Laboratory of Mariculture & Stock Enhancement in North China's Sea, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, 116023, China.
Key Laboratory of Mariculture & Stock Enhancement in North China's Sea, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, 116023, China.
Gene Expr Patterns. 2022 Jun;44:119245. doi: 10.1016/j.gep.2022.119245. Epub 2022 Apr 4.
Sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) is an important mariculture species in China. To date, the mechanisms of sex determination and differentiation in sea cucumber remain unclear. Identifying sex-specific molecular markers is an effective method for revealing the genetic basis of sex determination and sex differentiation. In this study, foxl2 and nodal homologous genes were identified in A. japonicus. Foxl2 exhibited dynamic and sexually dimorphic expression patterns in the gonads, with prominent expression in the ovaries and minimal expression in the testis according to real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) study. As nodal was specifically expressed in the ovary, it could serve as an ovary-specific marker in sea cucumber. Additionally, knockdown of foxl2 or nodal using RNA interference (RNAi) led to the down-regulation of piwi, germ cell-less, and dmrt1, suggesting that foxl2 and nodal may play important roles in gonad maintenance of sea cucumber. Overall, this study adds to our understanding of the roles of foxl2 and nodal in the gonadal development of A. japonicus, which provides further insight into the mechanisms of sea cucumber sex determination and differentiation.
海参（Apostichopus japonicus）是中国重要的海水养殖品种。迄今为止，海参的性别决定和分化机制仍不清楚。鉴定性别特异性分子标记是揭示性别决定和性别分化遗传基础的有效方法。本研究在刺参中鉴定出 foxl2 和 nodal 同源基因。实时定量 PCR（RT-qPCR）研究表明，foxl2 在性腺中表现出动态和性别二态性表达模式，在卵巢中表达明显，在睾丸中表达最少。由于 nodal 特异性表达于卵巢，因此可作为海参的卵巢特异性标记物。此外，使用 RNA 干扰（RNAi）敲低 foxl2 或 nodal 会导致 piwi、生殖细胞缺失和 dmrt1 的下调，表明 foxl2 和 nodal 可能在海参性腺维持中发挥重要作用。总之，本研究增加了我们对 foxl2 和 nodal 在刺参性腺发育中的作用的理解，为海参性别决定和分化机制提供了进一步的认识。
