Wang Haojie, Wen Zirui, Amenyogbe Eric, Jin Jinghui, Lu Yi, Wang Zhongliang, Huang Jiansheng
Fishery College, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524025, China.
Department of Water Resources and Aquaculture Management, University of Environment and Sustainable Development, PMB, Somanya, Ghana.
Animals (Basel). 2024 Nov 13;14(22):3261. doi: 10.3390/ani14223261.
The Nao-zhou stock large yellow croaker () is a unique economic seawater fish species in China and exhibits significant dimorphism in both male and female phenotypes. Cultivating all-female seedlings can significantly improve breeding efficiency. To accelerate the cultivation process of all female seedlings of this species, it is necessary to deeply understand the regulatory mechanisms of sexual differentiation and gonadal development. This study used Illumina high-throughput sequencing to sequence the transcriptome of the testes and ovaries of Nao-zhou stock large yellow croaker to identify genes and molecular functions related to sex determination. A total of 10,536 differentially expressed genes were identified between males and females, including 5682 upregulated and 4854 downregulated genes. Functional annotation screened out 70 important candidate genes related to sex, including 34 genes highly expressed in the testis (including , , and ) and 36 genes highly expressed in the ovary (including , , and ). Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis found that differentially expressed genes were significantly enriched in nine signaling pathways related to sex determination and gonadal development, including steroid hormone biosynthesis, MAPK signaling pathway, and the TGF-beta signaling pathway. By screening sex-related differentially expressed genes and mapping protein-protein interaction networks, hub genes such as , , and were found to be highly connected. The expression levels of 15 sex-related genes, including , , , , and , were determined by qRT-PCR and RNA sequencing. This study screened for differentially expressed genes related to sex determination and differentiation of Nao-zhou stock large yellow croaker and revealed the signaling pathways involved in gonad development of male and female individuals. The results provide important data for future research on sex determination and differentiation mechanisms, thereby providing a scientific basis for the cultivation of all-female seedlings.
硇洲群体大黄鱼（）是中国特有的经济海水鱼类，在雌雄表型上表现出显著的二态性。培育全雌鱼苗可显著提高养殖效率。为加快该品种全雌鱼苗的培育进程，有必要深入了解性别分化和性腺发育的调控机制。本研究利用Illumina高通量测序技术对硇洲群体大黄鱼的精巢和卵巢转录组进行测序，以鉴定与性别决定相关的基因和分子功能。共鉴定出雌雄之间10536个差异表达基因，其中上调基因5682个，下调基因4854个。功能注释筛选出70个与性别相关的重要候选基因，包括34个在精巢中高表达的基因（包括、和）和36个在卵巢中高表达的基因（包括、和）。基因本体论（GO）和京都基因与基因组百科全书（KEGG）通路富集分析发现，差异表达基因在与性别决定和性腺发育相关的9条信号通路中显著富集，包括类固醇激素生物合成、MAPK信号通路和TGF-β信号通路。通过筛选与性别相关的差异表达基因并绘制蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用网络，发现、和等枢纽基因具有高度连接性。通过qRT-PCR和RNA测序测定了15个与性别相关基因的表达水平，包括、、、和。本研究筛选了硇洲群体大黄鱼性别决定和分化相关的差异表达基因，揭示了雌雄个体性腺发育所涉及的信号通路。研究结果为今后性别决定和分化机制的研究提供了重要数据，从而为全雌鱼苗的培育提供了科学依据。
