Wang Yanlin, Yang Hongliang, Wang Yixin, Li Yulong, Ni Gang, Cummins Scott F, Chen Muyan
The Key Laboratory of Mariculture, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003, China.
CAS Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China.
DNA Res. 2024 Dec 27;32(1). doi: 10.1093/dnares/dsaf003.
Sex determination systems are diverse in echinoderms, however, our understanding is still very limited in this research field, especially for Asteroidea species. The northern Pacific seastar, Asterias amurensis, has attracted widespread concern due to its population outbreaks and high-risk invasions. Using whole-genome re-sequencing data from 40 females and 40 males, we identified a candidate sex determination region in A. amurensis. Based on the distribution characteristics of 525 sex-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms, identified by GWAS analysis, 119 sex-specific loci were isolated combining a custom Perl script, PCA analysis, and the selection signatures of fixation index FST, suggesting that a 7-12 Mb region on chromosome 10 is a candidate sex-determining region. The existence of female-specific sequences and the genotypes of sex-specific loci indicated that A. amurensis might utilize a ZZ/ZW sex-determination system. We also developed two pairs of sex-specific primers that could distinguish the genetic sex of this starfish with 100% accuracy. As the first study on sex determination in Asteroidea, it will provide novel insights into diverse sex determination systems in echinoderms and allow for in-depth studies on sex-related eco-physiological issues in A. amurensis.
棘皮动物的性别决定系统多种多样，然而，我们在这个研究领域的了解仍然非常有限，特别是对于海星纲物种。由于其种群爆发和高风险入侵，北太平洋海星（Asterias amurensis）引起了广泛关注。利用40只雌性和40只雄性的全基因组重测序数据，我们在多棘海盘车中确定了一个候选性别决定区域。基于全基因组关联研究（GWAS）分析确定的525个性别相关单核苷酸多态性的分布特征，结合自定义Perl脚本、主成分分析（PCA）和固定指数FST的选择特征，分离出119个性别特异性位点，表明10号染色体上7-12兆碱基的区域是一个候选性别决定区域。雌性特异性序列的存在和性别特异性位点的基因型表明，多棘海盘车可能采用ZZ/ZW性别决定系统。我们还开发了两对性别特异性引物，能够100%准确地区分这种海星的遗传性别。作为对海星纲性别决定的首次研究，它将为棘皮动物多样的性别决定系统提供新的见解，并有助于深入研究多棘海盘车中与性别相关的生态生理问题。
