Li Pei, Chen Jian, Zhu Chuankun, Pan Zhengjun, Li Qing, Wei Huijie, Wang Guiying, Cheng Weiwei, Fu Beide, Sun Yanhong
Fisheries Research Institute, Wuhan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan 430207, China.
Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Eco-Agriculture Biotechnology around Hongze Lake, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Regional Modern Agriculture & Environmental Protection, Jiangsu Engineering Laboratory for Breeding of Special Aquatic Organisms, Huaiyin Normal University, Huaian 223300, China.
Life (Basel). 2022 Jun 10;12(6):874. doi: 10.3390/life12060874.
DNA methylation has been found to be involved in sex determination and differentiation in many aquaculture species. The Ussuri catfish () is a popular aquaculture fish in China with high economic value in which male-biased sex dimorphism was observed in terms of body size and body weight. In this study, DNA methylation-sensitive RAD sequencing (Methyl-RAD) was used to explore the epigenetic difference between adult male and female samples in brain and gonad tissues. In brain tissues, 5,442,496 methylated cytosine sites were found and 9.94% of these sites were from symmetric CCGG or CCWGG sites. Among these sites, 321 differential DNA methylation sites (DMSs) in 171 genes were identified, while in gonad tissues, 4,043,053 methylated cytosines sites were found in total and 11.70% of them were from CCGG or CCWGG. Among these sites, 78 differential DNA methylation sites were found which were located in 64 genes. We also found several sex-determination genes among these differential methylated genes, such as , and in brain tissues and , and in gonad tissues. These results provided evidence for understanding the function of DNA methylation in the sex differentiation in , which further deepens the relationship between gene regulation and epigenetics.
已发现DNA甲基化参与许多水产养殖物种的性别决定和分化。乌苏里鲶鱼（）是中国一种受欢迎的具有高经济价值的水产养殖鱼类，在体型和体重方面观察到雄性偏向的性别二态性。在本研究中，使用DNA甲基化敏感RAD测序（Methyl-RAD）来探索成年雄性和雌性样本在脑和性腺组织中的表观遗传差异。在脑组织中，发现了5,442,496个甲基化胞嘧啶位点，其中9.94%的位点来自对称的CCGG或CCWGG位点。在这些位点中，鉴定出171个基因中的321个差异DNA甲基化位点（DMS），而在性腺组织中，总共发现了4,043,053个甲基化胞嘧啶位点，其中11.70%来自CCGG或CCWGG。在这些位点中，发现了78个差异DNA甲基化位点，位于64个基因中。我们还在这些差异甲基化基因中发现了几个性别决定基因，如脑组织中的、和，以及性腺组织中的、和。这些结果为理解DNA甲基化在乌苏里鲶鱼性别分化中的功能提供了证据，进一步加深了基因调控与表观遗传学之间的关系。
