|
1
|
Lasalle A, Benech-Correa G, Brunet FG, Vizziano-Cantonnet D. hsd17b1 is a key gene for ovarian differentiation of the Siberian sturgeon. Mol Reprod Dev 2024; 91:e23729. [PMID: 38282315 DOI: 10.1002/mrd.23729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2023] [Revised: 11/21/2023] [Accepted: 12/28/2023] [Indexed: 01/30/2024]
Abstract
This is the first work using gonads from undifferentiated, genetically-sexed Siberian sturgeon describing expression changes in genes related to steroid synthesis and female and male sex differentiation. One factor identified as relevant for ovarian differentiation was the gene coding for the enzyme Hsd17b1, which converts estrone into estradiol-17β. hsd17b1 was highly activated in female gonads at 2.5 months of age, around the onset of sex differentiation, preceding activation of two other genes involved in estrogen production (cyp19a1 and foxl2). hsd17b1 was also strongly repressed in males. Two known foxl2 paralogs are found in Siberian sturgeon-foxl2 and foxl2l-but only foxl2 appeared to be associated with ovarian differentiation. With regard to the male pathway, neither 11-oxygenated androgens nor classic male genes (amh, dmrt1, sox9, and dhh) were found to be involved in male sex differentiation, leaving open the question of which genes participate in early male gonad development in this ancient fish. Taken together, these results indicate an estrogen-dependence of female sex differentiation and 11-oxygenated androgen-independence of male sex differentiation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- André Lasalle
- Laboratorio de Fisiología de la Reproducción y Ecología de Peces, Instituto de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República Oriental del Uruguay, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Germán Benech-Correa
- Laboratorio de Fisiología de la Reproducción y Ecología de Peces, Instituto de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República Oriental del Uruguay, Montevideo, Uruguay
| | - Frédéric G Brunet
- Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle de Lyon, UMR5242, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Claude Bernard, Lyon, France
| | - Denise Vizziano-Cantonnet
- Laboratorio de Fisiología de la Reproducción y Ecología de Peces, Instituto de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República Oriental del Uruguay, Montevideo, Uruguay
| |
Collapse
|
|
2
|
Ruan R, Li Y, Yue H, Ye H, Jin J, Wu J, Du H, Li C. Transcriptome Analyses Reveal Expression Profiles of Morphologically Undifferentiated and Differentiated Gonads of Yangtze Sturgeon Acipenser dabryanus. Genes (Basel) 2023; 14:2058. [PMID: 38003000 PMCID: PMC10671670 DOI: 10.3390/genes14112058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2023] [Revised: 11/01/2023] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Sturgeon is known as a primitive fish with the ZZ/ZW sex determination system and is highly prized for its valuable caviar. Exploring the molecular mechanisms underlying gonadal differentiation would contribute to broadening our knowledge on the genetic regulation of sex differentiation of fish, enabling improved artificial breeding and management of sturgeons. However, the mechanisms are still poorly understood in sturgeons. This study aimed to profile expression patterns between female and male gonads at morphologically undifferentiated and early differentiated stages and identify vital genes involved in gonadal sex differentiation of sturgeons. The sexes of Yangtze sturgeon (Acipenser dabryanus) juveniles were identified via the sex-specific DNA marker and histological observation. Transcriptome analyses were carried out on female and male gonads at 30, 80 and 180 days post-hatching. The results showed that there was a total of 17 overlapped DEGs in the comparison groups of between female and male gonads at the three developmental stages, in which there were three DEGs related to ovarian steroidogenesis, including hsd17b1, foxl2 and cyp19a1. The three DEGs were highly expressed in the female gonads, of which the expression levels were gradually increased with the number of days after hatching. No well-known testis-related genes were found in the overlapped DEGs. Additionally, the expression levels of hsd17b1 and cyp19a1 mRNA were decreased with the knockdown of foxl2 mRNA via siRNA. The results further suggested that foxl2 should play a crucial role in the ovarian differentiation of sturgeons. In conclusion, this study showed that more genes involved in ovarian development than testis development emerged with sexually dimorphic expression during early gonadal sex differentiation, and it provided a preliminary understanding of the molecular regulation on gonadal differentiation of sturgeons.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rui Ruan
- Key Laboratory of Freshwater Biodiversity Conservation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China, Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan 430223, China; (R.R.); (Y.L.); (H.Y.); (H.Y.); (J.J.); (J.W.)
| | - Ying Li
- Key Laboratory of Freshwater Biodiversity Conservation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China, Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan 430223, China; (R.R.); (Y.L.); (H.Y.); (H.Y.); (J.J.); (J.W.)
| | - Huamei Yue
- Key Laboratory of Freshwater Biodiversity Conservation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China, Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan 430223, China; (R.R.); (Y.L.); (H.Y.); (H.Y.); (J.J.); (J.W.)
| | - Huan Ye
- Key Laboratory of Freshwater Biodiversity Conservation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China, Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan 430223, China; (R.R.); (Y.L.); (H.Y.); (H.Y.); (J.J.); (J.W.)
| | - Jiali Jin
- Key Laboratory of Freshwater Biodiversity Conservation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China, Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan 430223, China; (R.R.); (Y.L.); (H.Y.); (H.Y.); (J.J.); (J.W.)
| | - Jinping Wu
- Key Laboratory of Freshwater Biodiversity Conservation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China, Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan 430223, China; (R.R.); (Y.L.); (H.Y.); (H.Y.); (J.J.); (J.W.)
| | - Hao Du
- Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Germplasm Resources and Biotechnology, Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan 430223, China
| | - Chuangju Li
- Key Laboratory of Freshwater Biodiversity Conservation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China, Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan 430223, China; (R.R.); (Y.L.); (H.Y.); (H.Y.); (J.J.); (J.W.)
| |
Collapse
|