Luo Jing-Yu, Shen Shuai-Qi, Xu Hai-Jing, Yang Jin-Shu, Ma Wen-Ming
College of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Zhejiang Wanli University, Ningbo, Zhejiang 315100, People's Republic of China.
College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Zijingang Campus, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, People's Republic of China.
iScience. 2023 May 26;26(7):106968. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106968. eCollection 2023 Jul 21.
Some Zinc finger (ZnF) proteins are required for masculinization in silkworms. In the present study, a masculinizer gene (Mr-Masc) with multi-tissue expression is identified in the freshwater prawn . The Mr-Masc is clustered into a separate branch with ZnF proteins from decapoda by phylogenetic tree analysis. Moreover, Mr-Masc silencing in male postlarvae prawn results in functional sex reversal females known as neo-females, which are applied to all-male monosex offspring breeding. This manipulation has been significant in sexually dimorphic cultured species. In addition, several significantly expressed transcripts are enriched and the effects of crucial signal pathways are focused through the comparative transcriptomic analysis in Mr-Masc gene knockdown. The significantly differentially expressed epidermal growth factor, upregulated low-density lipoprotein receptor, flotillin, and sex-lethal unigenes, downregulated heat shock proteins and forkhead box homologs are focused. The finding offers an innovative perspective on Masc proteins' evolution and physiological function.
一些锌指（ZnF）蛋白是家蚕雄性化所必需的。在本研究中，在淡水虾中鉴定出一种具有多组织表达的雄性化基因（Mr-Masc）。通过系统发育树分析，Mr-Masc与十足目动物的锌指蛋白聚集在一个单独的分支中。此外，在雄性后期幼虾中沉默Mr-Masc会导致功能性性逆转雌性，即所谓的新雌性，可用于全雄单性后代育种。这种操作在具有性别二态性的养殖物种中具有重要意义。此外，通过对Mr-Masc基因敲低的比较转录组分析，富集了几个显著表达的转录本，并聚焦了关键信号通路的作用。显著差异表达的表皮生长因子、上调的低密度脂蛋白受体、 flotillin和性致死单基因、下调的热休克蛋白和叉头盒同源物受到关注。这一发现为Masc蛋白的进化和生理功能提供了一个创新的视角。
