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He Z, Xiao F, Yang D, Deng F, Ding W, He Z, Wang S, Chen Q, Wang H, Chen M, Gao K, Xiong J, Tang Z, Zhang M, Yan T. Protein expression patterns and metal metabolites in a protogynous hermaphrodite fish, the ricefield eel (Monopterus albus). BMC Genomics 2024; 25:500. [PMID: 38773374 PMCID: PMC11106920 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-024-10397-w] [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: 10/20/2023] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 05/23/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The ricefield eel Monopterus albus undergoes a natural sex change from female to male during its life cycle, and previous studies have shown the potential mechanisms of this transition at the transcriptional and protein levels. However, the changes in protein levels have not been fully explored, especially in the intersexual stage. RESULTS In the present study, the protein expression patterns in the gonadal tissues from five different periods, the ovary (OV), early intersexual stage gonad (IE), middle intersexual stage gonad (IM), late intersexual stage gonad (IL), and testis (TE), were determined by untargeted proteomics sequencing. A total of 5125 proteins and 394 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were detected in the gonadal tissues. Of the 394 DEPs, there were 136 between the OV and IE groups, 20 between the IM and IE groups, 179 between the IL and IM groups, and 59 between the TE and IL groups. Three candidate proteins, insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA-binding protein 3 isoform X1 (Igf2bp3), triosephosphate isomerase (Tpi), and Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase isoform X1 [(Cu-Zn) Sod1], were validated by western blotting to verify the reliability of the data. Furthermore, metal metabolite-related proteins were enriched in the IL vs. IM groups and TE vs. IL groups, which had close relationships with sex change, including Cu2+-, Ca2+-, Zn2+- and Fe2+/Fe3+-related proteins. Analysis of the combined transcriptome data revealed consistent protein/mRNA expression trends for two metal metabolite-related proteins/genes [LOC109953912 and calcium Binding Protein 39 Like (cab39l)]. Notably, we detected significantly higher levels of Cu2+ during the sex change process, suggesting that Cu2+ is a male-related metal metabolite that may have an important function in male reproductive development. CONCLUSIONS In summary, we analyzed the protein profiles of ricefield eel gonadal tissues in five sexual stages (OV, IE, IM, IL, and TE) and verified the plausibility of the data. After preforming the functional enrichment of metal metabolite-related DEPs, we detected the contents of the metal metabolites Zn2+, Cu2+, Ca2+, and Fe2+/Fe3+ at these five stages and screened for (Cu-Zn) Sod1 and Mmp-9 as possible key proteins in the sex reversal process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhi He
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
- Fish Resources and Environment in Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Observation and Research Station of Sichuan Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Feng Xiao
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Deying Yang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
- Fish Resources and Environment in Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Observation and Research Station of Sichuan Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Faqiang Deng
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Wenxiang Ding
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Zhide He
- Fish Resources and Environment in Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Observation and Research Station of Sichuan Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Siqi Wang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Qiqi Chen
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Haochen Wang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Mingqiang Chen
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Kuo Gao
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Jinxing Xiong
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Ziting Tang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
- Fish Resources and Environment in Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Observation and Research Station of Sichuan Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Mingwang Zhang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
- Fish Resources and Environment in Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Observation and Research Station of Sichuan Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Taiming Yan
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China.
- Fish Resources and Environment in Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Observation and Research Station of Sichuan Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China.
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Tseng PW, Lin CJ, Tsao YH, Kuo WL, Chen HC, Dufour S, Wu GC, Chang CF. The effect of gonadal hormones on the gene expression of brain-pituitary in protandrous black porgy, Acanthopagrus schlegelii. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2024; 351:114482. [PMID: 38432348 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2024.114482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2023] [Revised: 02/03/2024] [Accepted: 02/25/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024]
Abstract
In black porgy (Acanthopagrus schlegelii), the brain-pituitary-testis (Gnrh-Gths-Dmrt1) axis plays a vital role in male fate determination and maintenance, and then inhibiting female development in further (puberty). However, the feedback of gonadal hormones on regulating brain signaling remains unclear. In this study, we conducted short-term sex steroid treatment and surgery of gonadectomy to evaluate the feedback regulation between the gonads and the brain. The qPCR results show that male phase had the highest gths transcripts; treatment with estradiol-17β (E2) or 17α-methyltestosterone (MT) resulted in the increased pituitary lhb transcripts. After surgery, apart from gnrh1, there is no difference in brain signaling genes between gonadectomy and sham fish. In the diencephalon/mesencephalon transcriptome, de novo assembly generated 283,528 unigenes; however, only 443 (0.16%) genes showed differentially expressed between sham and gonadectomy fish. In the present study, we found that exogenous sex steroids affect the gths transcription; this feedback control is related to the gonadal stage. Furthermore, gonadectomy may not affect gene expression of brain signaling (Gnrh-Gths axis). Our results support the communication between ovotestis and brain signaling (Gnrh-Gths-testicular Dmrt1) for the male fate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng-Wei Tseng
- Doctoral Degree Program in Marine Biotechnology, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 202, Taiwan; Doctoral Degree Program in Marine Biotechnology, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan
| | - Chien-Ju Lin
- Department of Aquaculture, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung 912, Taiwan
| | - Yuan-Han Tsao
- Department of Aquaculture, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 202, Taiwan
| | - Wei-Lun Kuo
- Department of Aquaculture, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 202, Taiwan
| | - Hsin-Chih Chen
- Department of Aquaculture, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 202, Taiwan
| | - Sylvie Dufour
- Center of Excellence for the Oceans, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 202, Taiwan; Biology of Aquatic Organisms and Ecosystems (BOREA), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, IRD, Paris, France
| | - Guan-Chung Wu
- Department of Aquaculture, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 202, Taiwan; Center of Excellence for the Oceans, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 202, Taiwan.
| | - Ching-Fong Chang
- Department of Aquaculture, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 202, Taiwan; Center of Excellence for the Oceans, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 202, Taiwan.
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Tan K, Dong Y, Tan K, Lim LS, Waiho K, Chen J, Xu P, Kwan KY. siRNA Silencing of FpVtg Induces Ovarian Cell Apoptosis in Redtail Prawn, Fenneropenaeus penicillatus. MARINE BIOTECHNOLOGY (NEW YORK, N.Y.) 2023; 25:1176-1190. [PMID: 38010485 DOI: 10.1007/s10126-023-10269-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
Inadequate gonadal maturation and poor spawning performance increasingly threaten the sustainability of shrimp aquaculture. Unraveling the mechanisms regulating ovarian development and maturation hence is critical to address industry challenges. Vitellogenin (Vtg), a precursor of yolk protein found in the hepatopancreas and ovary of shrimp, plays a key role in facilitating shrimp's oocyte maturation and embryonic development after oviposition. This study found that FpVtg was specifically expressed in F. penicillatus hepatopancreas and ovary. FpVtg was localized predominantly in the oocyte cytoplasm and distributed uniformly in the hepatopancreas tissue. Silencing FpVtg led to apoptosis in both hepatopancreas and ovary tissues. Furthermore, FpVtg depletion upregulated the expression of ovarian peritrophin 1, ovarian peritrophin 2, serine proteinase inhibitor 6, and juvenile hormone esterase-like carboxylesterase 1, while downregulated that of vitellogenin, delta-9 desaturase, and insulin-like receptor. KEGG pathway analysis implicated such as PI3K-AKT signaling, RNA transport, ECM-receptor interaction, hippo signaling, oocyte meiosis, and apoptosis were enriched and involved in ovarian development. These findings have provided insights into the FpVtg's reproductive role and the associated regulatory genes and pathways in F. penicillatus. This knowledge can contribute to establishing strategies to improve the breeding and aquaculture production of F. penicillatus by elucidating its vitellogenesis regulation in redtail prawn and other penaeid species. Further characterization of the implicated pathways and genes will clarify the intricacies underlying ovarian maturation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kianann Tan
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Beibu Gulf Marine Biodiversity Conservation, College of Marine Sciences, Beibu Gulf University, Qinzhou City, 535011, Guangxi, China
| | - Yaxin Dong
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Beibu Gulf Marine Biodiversity Conservation, College of Marine Sciences, Beibu Gulf University, Qinzhou City, 535011, Guangxi, China
| | - Karsoon Tan
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Beibu Gulf Marine Biodiversity Conservation, College of Marine Sciences, Beibu Gulf University, Qinzhou City, 535011, Guangxi, China
| | - Leong-Seng Lim
- Borneo Marine Research Institute, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu City, Sabah, Malaysia
| | - Khor Waiho
- Higher Institution Centre of Excellence (HICoE), Institute of Tropical Aquaculture and Fisheries, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Nerus City, 21030, Terengganu, Malaysia
| | - Jing Chen
- Zhejiang Institute of Freshwater Fisheries, Huzhou City, 313001, China
| | - Peng Xu
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Beibu Gulf Marine Biodiversity Conservation, College of Marine Sciences, Beibu Gulf University, Qinzhou City, 535011, Guangxi, China.
| | - Kit Yue Kwan
- Guangxi Key Laboratory of Beibu Gulf Marine Biodiversity Conservation, College of Marine Sciences, Beibu Gulf University, Qinzhou City, 535011, Guangxi, China.
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Zhao Y, Liu Y, Wu J, Kong D, Zhao S, Li G, Li W. Swamp eel aldehyde reductase is involved in response to nitrosative stress via regulating NO/GSH levels. JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY 2023; 103:529-543. [PMID: 37266950 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.15471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2023] [Accepted: 06/01/2023] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Aldehyde reductase (ALR) plays key roles in the detoxification of toxic aldehyde. In this study, the authors cloned the swamp eel ALR gene using rapid amplification of cDNA ends-PCR (RACE-PCR). The recombinant protein (rALR) was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified using a Ni2+ -NTA chelating column. The rALR protein exhibited efficient reductive activity towards several aldehydes, ketones and S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO). A spot assay suggested that the recombinant E. coli strain expressing rALR showed better resistance to formaldehyde, sodium nitrite and GSNO stress, suggesting that swamp eel ALR is crucial for redox homeostasis in vivo. Consequently, the authors investigated the effect of rALR on the oxidative parameters of the liver in swamp eels challenged with Aeromonas hydrophila. The hepatic glutathione (GSH) content significantly increased, and the hepatic NO content and levels of reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species significantly decreased when rALR was administered. In addition, the mRNA expression of hepatic Alr, HO1 and Nrf2 was significantly upregulated, whereas the expression levels of NF-κB, IL-1β and NOS1 were significantly downregulated in the rALR-administered group. Collectively, these results suggest that ALR is involved in the response to nitrosative stress by regulating GSH/NO levels in the swamp eel.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuhe Zhao
- College of Life Sciences, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China
| | - Yang Liu
- College of Life Sciences, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China
| | - Jianfen Wu
- College of Life Sciences, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China
| | - Dan Kong
- College of Life Sciences, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China
| | - Sifan Zhao
- College of Life Sciences, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China
| | - Guopan Li
- College of Life Sciences, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China
| | - Wei Li
- College of Life Sciences, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China
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5
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Xu R, Martelossi J, Smits M, Iannello M, Peruzza L, Babbucci M, Milan M, Dunham JP, Breton S, Milani L, Nuzhdin SV, Bargelloni L, Passamonti M, Ghiselli F. Multi-tissue RNA-Seq Analysis and Long-read-based Genome Assembly Reveal Complex Sex-specific Gene Regulation and Molecular Evolution in the Manila Clam. Genome Biol Evol 2022; 14:6889380. [PMID: 36508337 PMCID: PMC9803972 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evac171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2022] [Revised: 11/26/2022] [Accepted: 11/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The molecular factors and gene regulation involved in sex determination and gonad differentiation in bivalve molluscs are unknown. It has been suggested that doubly uniparental inheritance (DUI) of mitochondria may be involved in these processes in species such as the ubiquitous and commercially relevant Manila clam, Ruditapes philippinarum. We present the first long-read-based de novo genome assembly of a Manila clam, and a RNA-Seq multi-tissue analysis of 15 females and 15 males. The highly contiguous genome assembly was used as reference to investigate gene expression, alternative splicing, sequence evolution, tissue-specific co-expression networks, and sexual contrasting SNPs. Differential expression (DE) and differential splicing (DS) analyses revealed sex-specific transcriptional regulation in gonads, but not in somatic tissues. Co-expression networks revealed complex gene regulation in gonads, and genes in gonad-associated modules showed high tissue specificity. However, male gonad-associated modules showed contrasting patterns of sequence evolution and tissue specificity. One gene set was related to the structural organization of male gametes and presented slow sequence evolution but high pleiotropy, whereas another gene set was enriched in reproduction-related processes and characterized by fast sequence evolution and tissue specificity. Sexual contrasting SNPs were found in genes overrepresented in mitochondrial-related functions, providing new candidates for investigating the relationship between mitochondria and sex in DUI species. Together, these results increase our understanding of the role of DE, DS, and sequence evolution of sex-specific genes in an understudied taxon. We also provide resourceful genomic data for studies regarding sex diagnosis and breeding in bivalves.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ran Xu
- Corresponding authors: E-mail: (R.X.); E-mail: (F.G.)
| | | | | | | | - Luca Peruzza
- Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Massimiliano Babbucci
- Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Massimo Milan
- Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Joseph P Dunham
- Program in Molecular and Computational Biology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA,SeqOnce Biosciences Inc., Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Sophie Breton
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
| | - Liliana Milani
- Department of Biological, Geological, and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Sergey V Nuzhdin
- Program in Molecular and Computational Biology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Luca Bargelloni
- Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
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6
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Priyam M, Gupta SK, Sarkar B, Naskar S, Kumar N, Foysal MJ, Sharma TR. Variation in immuno-reproductive milieu of testis in Clarias magur from pre-spawning to spawning phase: An indication towards non-canonical role of immune elements in testes. J Reprod Immunol 2022; 154:103757. [PMID: 36335659 DOI: 10.1016/j.jri.2022.103757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2022] [Revised: 09/18/2022] [Accepted: 10/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Immune mechanisms are major players in ensuring the normal functioning of testicular functions. However, apart from their role in active defence against pathogens, prior studies have also suggested a possibility for reproduction-related (non-immune) functions of certain immune elements. This study employs a comparative transcriptomics approach followed by network analysis for tracking the variation in the immuno-reproductive milieu of Clarias magur testis in spawning versus pre-spawning phase. The results show a significant modulation of both reproduction and immune-relevant genes in spawning versus pre-spawning phase. The functional enrichment of the upregulated reproduction-relevant gene network also shows immune-related biological processes which indicates a probability of involvement of these candidates in spermatogenesis-related events for switching from pre-spawning to spawning phase. The upregulated immune network is highly dense with 40 hubs, 10 cluster sub-networks and 142 functionally enriched pathways in comparison to its downregulated counterpart with only 5 hubs, 1 cluster and 1 enriched pathway. These findings indicate that the synchronisation in modulation of both reproductive and immune-related factors is critical for progression of testicular events guiding the switch from pre-spawning to spawning phase. The reproductive phase-dependent variation in plasma sex steroid levels and the selected genes for quantitative PCR also corroborated this hypothesis. The study also serves as a preliminary screening step for probable immune candidates that may be involved in reproductive functions of testis in addition to defence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manisha Priyam
- ICAR, Indian Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology, Ranchi, Jharkhand 834010, India
| | - Sanjay K Gupta
- ICAR, Indian Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology, Ranchi, Jharkhand 834010, India.
| | - Biplab Sarkar
- ICAR, Indian Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology, Ranchi, Jharkhand 834010, India
| | - Soumen Naskar
- ICAR, Indian Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology, Ranchi, Jharkhand 834010, India
| | - Neeraj Kumar
- ICAR, National Institute of Abiotic Stress Management, Malegaon, Baramati, Pune 413115, India
| | - Md Javed Foysal
- School of Molecular and Life Sciences Curtin University, WA 6845 Australia
| | - T R Sharma
- ICAR, Indian Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology, Ranchi, Jharkhand 834010, India
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Fan M, Yang W, Zhang W, Zhang L. The ontogenic gonadal transcriptomes provide insights into sex change in the ricefield eel Monopterus albus. BMC ZOOL 2022; 7:56. [PMID: 37170354 PMCID: PMC10127409 DOI: 10.1186/s40850-022-00155-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2022] [Accepted: 10/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The ricefield eel is a freshwater protogynous hermaphrodite fish and has become an important aquaculture species in China. The sex change of ricefield eel is impeding its aquaculture practice, particularly the large-scale artificial breeding. Many studies including transcriptomes of mixed gonadal samples from different individuals have been aimed to elucidate mechanisms underlying the sex change. However, the key physiological factors involved in the initiation of sex change remain to be identified. RESULTS: The present study performed transcriptomic analysis on gonadal samples of different sexual stages obtained through biopsy from the same fish undergoing sex change. A total of 539,764,816 high-quality reads were generated from twelve cDNA libraries of gonadal tissues at female (F), early intersexual (EI), mid-intersexual (MI), and late intersexual (LI) stages of three individual sex-changing fish. Pairwise comparisons between EI and F, MI and EI, and LI and MI identified 886, 319, and 10,767 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), respectively. Realtime quantitative PCR analysis of 12 representative DEGs showed similar expression profiles to those inferred from transcriptome data, suggesting the reliability of RNA-seq data for gene expression analysis. The expression of apoeb, csl2, and enpp2 was dramatically increased and peaked at EI while that of cyp19a1a, wnt4a, fgf16, and foxl2a significantly downregulated from F to EI and remained at very low levels during subsequent development until LI, which suggests that apoeb, csl2, enpp2, cyp19a1a, wnt4a, fgf16, and foxl2a may be closely associated with the initiation of sex change of ricefield eels. CONCLUSIONS Collectively, results of the present study confirmed that the down-regulation of female-related genes, such as cyp19a1a, wnt4a, fgf16, and foxl2a, is important for the sex change of ricefield eels. More importantly, some novel genes, including apoeb, csl2, and enpp2, were shown to be expressed with peak values at EI, which are potentially involved in the initiation of sex change. The present transcriptomic data may provide an important research resource for further unraveling the mechanisms underlying the sex change and testicular development in ricefield eels as well as other teleosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miao Fan
- Institute of Aquatic Economic Animals and Guangdong Province Key Laboratory for Aquatic Economic Animals, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Wei Yang
- Institute of Aquatic Economic Animals and Guangdong Province Key Laboratory for Aquatic Economic Animals, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
- Present address: Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen People's Hospital (The Second Clinical Medical College, Jinan University; The First Affiliated Hospital, Southern University of Science and Technology), Shenzhen, 518020, Guangdong, People's Republic of China
| | - Weimin Zhang
- Institute of Aquatic Economic Animals and Guangdong Province Key Laboratory for Aquatic Economic Animals, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
- Biology Department, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
| | - Lihong Zhang
- Institute of Aquatic Economic Animals and Guangdong Province Key Laboratory for Aquatic Economic Animals, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
- Biology Department, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
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He Z, Ma Z, Yang D, Chen Q, He Z, Hu J, Deng F, Zhang Q, He J, Ye L, Chen H, He L, Huang X, Luo W, Yang S, Gu X, Zhang M, Yan T. Circular RNA expression profiles and CircSnd1-miR-135b/c-foxl2 axis analysis in gonadal differentiation of protogynous hermaphroditic ricefield eel Monopterus albus. BMC Genomics 2022; 23:552. [PMID: 35922747 PMCID: PMC9347082 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-022-08783-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Accepted: 07/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The expression and biological functions of circular RNAs (circRNAs) in reproductive organs have been extensively reported. However, it is still unclear whether circRNAs are involved in sex change. To this end, RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was performed in gonads at 5 sexual stages (ovary, early intersexual stage gonad, middle intersexual stage gonad, late intersexual stage gonad, and testis) of ricefield eel, and the expression profiles and potential functions of circRNAs were studied. RESULTS Seven hundred twenty-one circRNAs were identified, and the expression levels of 10 circRNAs were verified by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and found to be in accordance with the RNA-seq data, suggesting that the RNA-seq data were reliable. Then, the sequence length, category, sequence composition and the relationship between the parent genes of the circRNAs were explored. A total of 147 circRNAs were differentially expressed in the sex change process, and GO and KEGG analyses revealed that some differentially expressed (such as novel_circ_0000659, novel_circ_0004005 and novel_circ_0005865) circRNAs were closely involved in sex change. Furthermore, expression pattern analysis demonstrated that both circSnd1 and foxl2 were downregulated in the process of sex change, which was contrary to mal-miR-135b. Finally, dual-luciferase reporter assay and RNA immunoprecipitation showed that circSnd1 and foxl2 can combine with mal-miR-135b and mal-miR-135c. These data revealed that circSnd1 regulates foxl2 expression in the sex change of ricefield eel by acting as a sponge of mal-miR-135b/c. CONCLUSION Our results are the first to demonstrate that circRNAs have potential effects on sex change in ricefield eel; and circSnd1 could regulate foxl2 expression in the sex change of ricefield eel by acting as a sponge of mal-miR-135b/c. These data will be useful for enhancing our understanding of sequential hermaphroditism and sex change in ricefield eel or other teleosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhi He
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, Sichuan, China
| | - Zhijun Ma
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, Sichuan, China
| | - Deying Yang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, Sichuan, China
| | - Qiqi Chen
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, Sichuan, China
| | - Zhide He
- Luzhou City Department of Agricultural and Rural Affairs, Luzhou, 646000, Sichuan, China
| | - Jiaxiang Hu
- Sichuan Water Conservancy Vocational College, Chengdu, 611231, Sichuan, China
| | - Faqiang Deng
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, Sichuan, China
| | - Qian Zhang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, Sichuan, China
| | - Jiayang He
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, Sichuan, China
| | - Lijuan Ye
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, Sichuan, China
| | - Hongjun Chen
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, Sichuan, China
| | - Liang He
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, Sichuan, China
| | - Xiaoli Huang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, Sichuan, China
| | - Wei Luo
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, Sichuan, China
| | - Shiyong Yang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, Sichuan, China
| | - Xiaobin Gu
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, Sichuan, China
| | - Mingwang Zhang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, Sichuan, China
| | - Taiming Yan
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, Sichuan, China.
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9
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Zhou T, Chen G, Chen M, Wang Y, Zou G, Liang H. Tandem Mass Tag-Based Quantitative Proteomics Analysis of Gonads Reveals New Insight into Sexual Reversal Mechanism in Chinese Soft-Shelled Turtles. BIOLOGY 2022; 11:biology11071081. [PMID: 36101459 PMCID: PMC9312195 DOI: 10.3390/biology11071081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Revised: 06/10/2022] [Accepted: 07/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Chinese soft-shelled turtles display obvious sex dimorphism. The exogenous application of hormones (estradiol and methyltestosterone) can change the direction of gonadal differentiation of P. sinensis to produce sex reversed individuals. However, the molecular mechanism remains unclear. In this study, TMT-based quantitative proteomics analysis of four types of P. sinensis (female, male, pseudo-female, and pseudo-male) gonads were compared. Quantitative analysis of 6107 labeled proteins in the four types of P. sinensis gonads was performed. We identified 440 downregulated and 423 upregulated proteins between pseudo-females and males, as well as 394 downregulated and 959 upregulated proteins between pseudo-males and females. In the two comparisons, the differentially expressed proteins, including K7FKG1, K7GIQ2, COL4A6, K7F2U2, and K7FF80, were enriched in some important pathways, such as focal adhesion, endocytosis, apoptosis, extracellular matrix-receptor interaction, and the regulation of actin cytoskeleton, which were upregulated in pseudo-female vs. male and downregulated in pseudo-male vs. female. In pathways such as ribosome and spliceosome, the levels of RPL28, SRSF3, SNRNP40, and HNRNPK were increased from male to pseudo-female, while they decreased from female to pseudo-male. All differentially expressed proteins after sexual reversal were divided into six clusters, according to their altered levels in the four types of P. sinensis, and associated with cellular processes, such as embryonic development and catabolic process, that were closely related to sexual reversal. These data will provide clues for the sexual reversal mechanism in P. sinensis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tong Zhou
- Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan 430223, China; (T.Z.); (G.C.); (M.C.); (Y.W.)
| | - Guobin Chen
- Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan 430223, China; (T.Z.); (G.C.); (M.C.); (Y.W.)
- College of Fisheries and Life, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China
| | - Meng Chen
- Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan 430223, China; (T.Z.); (G.C.); (M.C.); (Y.W.)
| | - Yubin Wang
- Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan 430223, China; (T.Z.); (G.C.); (M.C.); (Y.W.)
- College of Fisheries and Life, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China
| | - Guiwei Zou
- Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan 430223, China; (T.Z.); (G.C.); (M.C.); (Y.W.)
- Correspondence: (G.Z.); (H.L.); Tel.: +86-27-8178-0097 (H.L.)
| | - Hongwei Liang
- Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan 430223, China; (T.Z.); (G.C.); (M.C.); (Y.W.)
- Correspondence: (G.Z.); (H.L.); Tel.: +86-27-8178-0097 (H.L.)
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10
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Sun X, Tao B, Wang Y, Hu W, Sun Y. Isolation and Characterization of Germline Stem Cells in Protogynous Hermaphroditic Monopterus albus. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23115861. [PMID: 35682541 PMCID: PMC9180834 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23115861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2022] [Revised: 05/22/2022] [Accepted: 05/22/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Germline stem cells (GSCs) are a group of unique adult stem cells in gonads that act as important transmitters for genetic information. Donor GSCs have been used to produce offspring by transplantation in fisheries. In this study, we successfully isolated and enriched GSCs from the ovary, ovotestis, and testis of Monopterus albus, one of the most important breeding freshwater fishes in China. Transcriptome comparison assay suggests that a distinct molecular signature exists in each type of GSC, and that different signaling activities are required for the maintenance of distinct GSCs. Functional analysis shows that fGSCs can successfully colonize and contribute to the germline cell lineage of a host zebrafish gonad after transplantation. Finally, we describe a simple feeder-free method for the isolation and enrichment of GSCs that can contribute to the germline cell lineage of zebrafish embryos and generate the germline chimeras after transplantation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyun Sun
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China; (X.S.); (B.T.); (Y.W.)
| | - Binbin Tao
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China; (X.S.); (B.T.); (Y.W.)
| | - Yongxin Wang
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China; (X.S.); (B.T.); (Y.W.)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China;
| | - Wei Hu
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China;
- The Innovation Academy of Seed Design, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China
| | - Yuhua Sun
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China; (X.S.); (B.T.); (Y.W.)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China;
- The Innovation Academy of Seed Design, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China
- Correspondence:
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11
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Tian HF, Hu Q, Lu HY, Li Z. Chromosome-Scale, Haplotype-Resolved Genome Assembly of Non-Sex-Reversal Females of Swamp Eel Using High-Fidelity Long Reads and Hi-C Data. Front Genet 2022; 13:903185. [PMID: 35669182 PMCID: PMC9165713 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2022.903185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The Asian swamp eel (Monopterus albus) is an excellent model species for studying sex change and chromosome evolution. M. albus is also widely reared in East Asia and South-East Asia because of its great nutritional value. The low fecundity of this species (about 300 eggs per fish) greatly hinders fries production and breeding programs. Interestingly, about 3–5% of the eels could remain as females for 3 years and lay more than 3,000 eggs per fish, which are referred to as non-sex-reversal (NSR) females. Here, we presented a new chromosome-level genome assembly of such NSR females using Illumina, HiFi, and Hi-C sequencing technologies. The new assembly (Mal.V2_NSR) is 838.39 Mb in length, and the N50 of the contigs is 49.8 Mb. Compared with the previous assembly obtained using the continuous long-read sequencing technology (Mal.V1_CLR), we found a remarkable increase of continuity in the new assembly Mal.V2_NSR with a 20-times longer contig N50. Chromosomes 2 and 12 were assembled into a single contig, respectively. Meanwhile, two highly contiguous haplotype assemblies were also obtained, with contig N50 being 14.54 and 12.13 Mb, respectively. BUSCO and Merqury analyses indicate completeness and high accuracy of these three assemblies. A comparative genomic analysis revealed substantial structural variations (SVs) between Mal.V2_NSR and Mal.V1_CLR and two phased haplotype assemblies, as well as whole chromosome fusion events when compared with the zig-zag eel. Additionally, our newly obtained assembly provides a genomic view of sex-related genes and a complete landscape of the MHC genes. Therefore, these high-quality genome assemblies would provide great help for future breeding works of the swamp eel, and it is a valuable new reference for genetic and genomic studies of this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hai-Feng Tian
- Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Qiaomu Hu
- Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Hong-Yi Lu
- Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan, China
- College of Fisheries, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Zhong Li
- Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan, China
- *Correspondence: Zhong Li,
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12
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Hou M, Feng K, Luo H, Jiang Y, Xu W, Li Y, Song Y, Chen J, Tao B, Zhu Z, Hu W. Complete Depletion of Primordial Germ Cells Results in Masculinization of Monopterus albus, a Protogynous Hermaphroditic Fish. MARINE BIOTECHNOLOGY (NEW YORK, N.Y.) 2022; 24:320-334. [PMID: 35303208 DOI: 10.1007/s10126-022-10106-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2021] [Accepted: 02/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Primordial germ cells (PGCs) play an important role in sexual fate determination and gonadal development in gonochoristic fish, such as zebrafish and medaka. However, little is known about the function of PGCs in hermaphroditic fish. Rice field eel (Monopterus albus), a protogynous hermaphroditic fish, is an economically valuable aquaculture species. We eliminated PGCs in rice field eels during embryogenesis via morpholino-mediated knockdown dead end (dnd). The PGCs-depleted gonads developed into testis-like structures with Sertoli cells and Leydig cells. The gene expression pattern of 15-month-old PGCs-depleted gonads showed that male-biased genes, dmrt1, sox9a, gsdf, and amh, were significantly higher than that of the WT, whereas female-biased genes, foxl2 and cyp19a1a, were significantly decreased. These results indicate that PGCs are essential for ovarian differentiation in rice field eel, and PGCs-depleted gonads develop into sterile males without undergoing the female and intersex stages. Our study is the first to identify the role of PGCs in sex differentiation in rice field eel, a protogynous hermaphrodite teleost. And it is of great significance in rice field eel for discovering the underlying mechanism of sex differentiation and establishing sex control technology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingxi Hou
- State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, The Innovation Academy of Seed Design, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan, 430072, China
- College of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Ke Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, The Innovation Academy of Seed Design, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Hongrui Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, The Innovation Academy of Seed Design, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Yinjun Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, The Innovation Academy of Seed Design, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan, 430072, China
- College of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Wen Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, The Innovation Academy of Seed Design, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan, 430072, China
- College of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Yongming Li
- State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, The Innovation Academy of Seed Design, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Yanlong Song
- State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, The Innovation Academy of Seed Design, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Ji Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, The Innovation Academy of Seed Design, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Binbin Tao
- State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, The Innovation Academy of Seed Design, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan, 430072, China.
| | - Zuoyan Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, The Innovation Academy of Seed Design, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Wei Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, The Innovation Academy of Seed Design, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hubei Hongshan Laboratory, Wuhan, 430072, China.
- Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China.
- College of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
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13
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Yap YT, Li W, Zhou Q, Haj-Diab S, Chowdhury DD, Vaishnav A, Harding P, Williams DC, Edwards BF, Strauss JF, Zhang Z. The Ancient and Evolved Mouse Sperm-Associated Antigen 6 Genes Have Different Biologic Functions In Vivo. Cells 2022; 11:336. [PMID: 35159146 PMCID: PMC8834003 DOI: 10.3390/cells11030336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Revised: 01/10/2022] [Accepted: 01/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Sperm-associated antigen 6 (SPAG6) is the mammalian orthologue of Chlamydomonas PF16, an axonemal central pair protein involved in flagellar motility. In mice, two Spag6 genes have been identified. The ancestral gene, on mouse chromosome 2, is named Spag6. A related gene originally called Spag6, localized on mouse chromosome 16, evolved from the ancient Spag6 gene. It has been renamed Spag6-like (Spag6l). Spag6 encodes a 1.6 kb transcript consisting of 11 exons, while Spag6l encodes a 2.4 kb transcript which contains an additional non-coding exon in the 3'-end as well as the 11 exons found in Spag6. The two Spag6 genes share high similarities in their nucleotide and amino acid sequences. Unlike Spag6l mRNA, which is widely expressed, Spag6 mRNA expression is limited to a smaller number of tissues, including the testis and brain. In transfected mammalian cells, SPAG6/GFP is localized on microtubules, a similar localization as SPAG6L. A global Spag6l knockout mouse model was generated previously. In addition to a role in modulating the ciliary beat, SPAG6L has many unexpected functions, including roles in the regulation of ciliogenesis/spermatogenesis, hearing, and the immunological synapse, among others. To investigate the role of the ancient Spag6 gene, we phenotyped global Spag6 knockout mice. All homozygous mutant mice were grossly normal, and fertility was not affected in both males and females. The homozygous males had normal sperm parameters, including sperm number, motility, and morphology. Examination of testis histology revealed normal spermatogenesis. Testicular protein expression levels of selected SPAG6L binding partners, including SPAG16L, were not changed in the Spag6 knockout mice, even though the SPAG16L level was significantly reduced in the Spag6l knockout mice. Structural analysis of the two SPAG6 proteins shows that both adopt very similar folds, with differences in a few amino acids, many of which are solvent-exposed. These differences endow the two proteins with different functional characteristics, even though both have eight armadillo repeats that mediate protein-protein interaction. Our studies suggest that SPAG6 and SPAG6L have different functions in vivo, with the evolved SPAG6L protein being more important. Since the two proteins have some overlapping binding partners, SPAG6 could have functions that are yet to be identified.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Tian Yap
- Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48201, USA; (Y.T.Y.); (W.L.); (Q.Z.); (S.H.-D.)
| | - Wei Li
- Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48201, USA; (Y.T.Y.); (W.L.); (Q.Z.); (S.H.-D.)
| | - Qi Zhou
- Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48201, USA; (Y.T.Y.); (W.L.); (Q.Z.); (S.H.-D.)
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, School of Public Health, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430060, China
| | - Sarah Haj-Diab
- Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48201, USA; (Y.T.Y.); (W.L.); (Q.Z.); (S.H.-D.)
| | - Dipanwita Dutta Chowdhury
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology & Immunology, School of Medicine, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48201, USA; (D.D.C.); (A.V.); (B.F.E.)
| | - Asmita Vaishnav
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology & Immunology, School of Medicine, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48201, USA; (D.D.C.); (A.V.); (B.F.E.)
| | - Pamela Harding
- Hypertension & Vascular Research Division, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI 48201, USA;
| | - David C. Williams
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA;
| | - Brian F. Edwards
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology & Immunology, School of Medicine, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48201, USA; (D.D.C.); (A.V.); (B.F.E.)
| | - Jerome F. Strauss
- Center for Research on Reproduction and Women’s Health, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA;
| | - Zhibing Zhang
- Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48201, USA; (Y.T.Y.); (W.L.); (Q.Z.); (S.H.-D.)
- The C.S. Mott Center for Human Growth and Development, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48201, USA
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14
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Liu L, Zhou Q, Lin C, He L, Wei L. Histological alterations, oxidative stress, and inflammatory response in the liver of swamp eel (Monopterus albus) acutely exposed to copper. FISH PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY 2021; 47:1865-1878. [PMID: 34564773 DOI: 10.1007/s10695-021-01014-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2021] [Accepted: 08/30/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Copper (Cu) is widely used as an essential trace element in diets as well as a therapeutic chemical. However, excessive Cu has deleterious effects on organisms, including teleosts. Although numerous toxic effects of Cu have been reported, the effects of Cu exposure on the swamp eel (Monopterus albus) as well as the underlying mechanisms have not yet been elucidated. In this study, swamp eels were acutely exposed to 100, 200, and 400 μg/L of Cu for 96 h to evaluate liver histopathology, oxidative stress, and inflammation. Dissolution of hepatocyte membrane, vacuolar degeneration, and inflammatory cell infiltration were detected in the livers of the Cu-treated swamp eels, especially in the 400 μg Cu/L group. Cu-induced hepatic dysfunction was further verified by the elevated activities of glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT) and glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT) and transcript levels of GOT and GPT genes. In addition, Cu exposure decreased the activities of total superoxide dismutase T-SOD and catalase (CAT) and the contents of glutathione (GSH) and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) and increased the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA). Cu exposure also significantly decreased the transcript levels of glutathione synthetase (GSS) and increased the transcript levels of SOD1, SOD2, CAT, and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) genes. Furthermore, pro-inflammatory genes such as interleukin (IL)-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and IL-8 were significantly upregulated. These results indicate that Cu induces oxidative stress and inflammatory response and causes pathological changes in the liver of the swamp eel.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Liu
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, 330045, People's Republic of China
| | - Qiubai Zhou
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, 330045, People's Republic of China
| | - Changgao Lin
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, 330045, People's Republic of China
| | - Li He
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, 330045, People's Republic of China
| | - Lili Wei
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, 330045, People's Republic of China.
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15
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Crucial role of dead end gene for primordial germ cell survival in rice field eel (Monopterus albus). Theriogenology 2021; 176:188-193. [PMID: 34624813 DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2021.09.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2021] [Revised: 09/28/2021] [Accepted: 09/30/2021] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
The dead end gene has been identified as a essential factor for Primordial germ cells (PGCs) migration and survival in many species, but its role in Monopterus albus is unclear. In order to clarify the function of dead end gene in M.albus PGCs migration and survival, we first characterized the expression profile of M.albus dead end (Madnd) in developing embryos and various tissues. qRT-PCR revealed that Madnd transcripts were exclusively detected in gonad, including ovary, testis and ovotestis.Embryos injected with a Madnd morpholino (Madnd-MO) exhibited down-regulation of the vasa gene. Furthermore, the GFP signal show the PGCs migration in control group were injected with GFP-nanos3 3'-UTR mRNA for visualization, as described in a previous study, yet it was disappeared after embryos injected with Madnd-MO.Finally, we characterized the genomics sequence of the Madnd gene and designed five gRNAs for genome editing. Three gRNAs were selected for microinjection according to the results of in vitro tests. gRNAd1 was used for microinjection with the Cas9 protein and was confirmed to be effective. Our analysis in this study suggested that Madnd play a key role in PGCs migration and survival in M. albus. These data provide the basis for the production of fast-growing and reproductively M.albus sterile.
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16
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He Z, Deng F, Ma Z, Zhang Q, He J, Ye L, Chen H, Yang D, He L, Luo J, Yan T. Molecular characterization, expression, and apoptosis regulation of siva1 in protogynous hermaphrodite fish ricefield eel (Monopterus albus). FISH PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY 2021; 47:1585-1596. [PMID: 34414556 DOI: 10.1007/s10695-021-00997-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2020] [Accepted: 08/02/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Siva1, which induces extensive apoptosis, has been well characterized. To elucidate the molecular function of Siva1 in ricefield eel, molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis were performed, and the mRNA expression in the ovary at different developmental stages and ovary tissues exposed to H2O2 and Z-VAD-FMK in vitro were also evaluated. The results indicated that ricefield eel Siva1 was highly conserved and contains three conserved motifs, despite 83 amino acid differences upstream of the initiation codon. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that ricefield eel Siva1 clusters together with the Siva1 protein of the other fish, with high sequence homology with that of Lates calcarifer. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis showed high siva1 expression levels in the ovary and low expression levels in the liver. The higher mRNA levels of siva1 were detected in the IE and IM, and the lower siva1 mRNA levels were found in the OM, IL, and TE during gonadal development. Additionally, siva1 expression levels in the ovarian tissues were significantly increased at 1 h post incubation (hpi) with H2O2 and then significantly decreased at 2 hpi; however, siva1 expression was upregulated significantly at 4 and 8 hpi, similar to the patterns observed with caspase3, which was used as a molecular marker of apoptosis. Moreover, the siva1 mRNAs were elevated significantly than that in control groups at 1 hpi, but the expression of siva1 was down-regulated dramatically at 2, 4, and 8 hpi, which were similar with that of caspase3 expression profiles after Z-VAD-FMK incubation. What's more, Pearson's correlation coefficients showed strongly positive relationships between siva1 and caspase3. These findings suggest that Siva1 plays an important apoptosis role in gonadal development of ricefield eel.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhi He
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Faqiang Deng
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Zhijun Ma
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Qian Zhang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Jiayang He
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Lijuan Ye
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Hongjun Chen
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Deying Yang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Liang He
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Jie Luo
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China
| | - Taiming Yan
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China.
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17
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Vissio PG, Di Yorio MP, Pérez-Sirkin DI, Somoza GM, Tsutsui K, Sallemi JE. Developmental aspects of the hypothalamic-pituitary network related to reproduction in teleost fish. Front Neuroendocrinol 2021; 63:100948. [PMID: 34678303 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2021.100948] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2021] [Revised: 08/27/2021] [Accepted: 10/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis is the main system that regulates reproduction in vertebrates through a complex network that involves different neuropeptides, neurotransmitters, and pituitary hormones. Considering that this axis is established early on life, the main goal of the present work is to gather information on its development and the actions of its components during early life stages. This review focuses on fish because their neuroanatomical characteristics make them excellent models to study neuroendocrine systems. The following points are discussed: i) developmental functions of the neuroendocrine components of this network, and ii) developmental disruptions that may impact adult reproduction. The importance of the components of this network and their susceptibility to external/internal signals that can alter their specific early functions and/or even the establishment of the reproductive axis, indicate that more studies are necessary to understand this complex and dynamic network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula G Vissio
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, Buenos Aires, Argentina; CONICET - Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada (IBBEA), CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
| | - María P Di Yorio
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, Buenos Aires, Argentina; CONICET - Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada (IBBEA), CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Daniela I Pérez-Sirkin
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, Buenos Aires, Argentina; CONICET - Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada (IBBEA), CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Gustavo M Somoza
- Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús (CONICET-UNSAM), Chascomús, Argentina
| | - Kazuyoshi Tsutsui
- Department of Biology and Center for Medical Life Science, Waseda University, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8480, Japan; Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life, Hiroshima University, Kagamiyama 1-7-1, Higashi-Hiroshima 739-8521, Japan
| | - Julieta E Sallemi
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, Buenos Aires, Argentina; CONICET - Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada (IBBEA), CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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18
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Integrated Analysis of miR-430 on Steroidogenesis-Related Gene Expression of Larval Rice Field Eel Monopterus albus. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22136994. [PMID: 34209701 PMCID: PMC8269179 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22136994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2021] [Revised: 06/17/2021] [Accepted: 06/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The present study aims to reveal the mechanism by which miR-430s regulate steroidogenesis in larval rice field eel Monopterus albus. To this end, M. albus embryos were respectively microinjected with miRNA-overexpressing mimics (agomir430a, agomir430b, and agomir430c) or miRNA-knockdown inhibitors (antagomir430a, antagomir430b, and antagomir430c). Transcriptome profiling of the larvae indicated that a total of more than 149 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified among the eight treatments. Specifically, DEGs related to steroidogenesis, the GnRH signaling pathway, the erbB signaling pathway, the Wnt signaling pathway, and other pathways were characterized in the transcriptome. We found that steroidogenesis-related genes (hydroxysteroid 17-beta dehydrogenase 3 (17β-hsdb3), hydroxysteroid 17-beta dehydrogenase 7 (17β-hsdb7), hydroxysteroid 17-beta dehydrogenase 12 (17β-hsdb12), and cytochrome P450 family 19 subfamily a (cyp19a1b)) were significantly downregulated in miR-430 knockdown groups. The differential expressions of miR-430 in three gonads indicated different roles of three miR-430 (a, b, and c) isoforms in regulating steroidogenesis and sex differentiation. Mutation of the miR-430 sites reversed the downregulation of cytochrome P450 family 17 (cyp17), cyp19a1b, and forkhead box L2 (foxl2) reporter activities by miR-430, indicating that miR-430 directly interacted with cyp17, cyp19a1b, and foxl2 genes to inhibit their expressions. Combining these findings, we concluded that miR-430 regulated the steroidogenesis and the biosynthesis of steroid hormones by targeting cyp19a1b in larval M. albus. Our results provide a novel insight into steroidogenesis at the early stage of fish at the molecular level.
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Strüssmann CA, Yamamoto Y, Hattori RS, Fernandino JI, Somoza GM. Where the Ends Meet: An Overview of Sex Determination in Atheriniform Fishes. Sex Dev 2021; 15:80-92. [PMID: 33951664 DOI: 10.1159/000515191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2020] [Accepted: 01/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Atheriniform fishes have recently emerged as attractive models for evolutionary, ecological, and molecular/physiological studies on sex determination. Many species in this group have marked temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) and yet many species also have a sex determinant gene that provides a strong drive for male differentiation. Thus, in these species the 2 forms of sex determination that were once considered to be mutually exclusive, environmental (ESD) and genotypic (GSD) sex determination, can coexist at environmentally relevant conditions. Here, we review the current knowledge on sex determination in atheriniform fishes with emphasis on the molecular and physiological mechanisms of ESD and GSD, the coexistence and cross-talk between these 2 mechanisms, the possibility of extragonadal transduction of environmental information and/or extragonadal onset of sex determination, and the results of field studies applying novel tools such as otolith increment analysis and molecular markers of genetic sex developed for selected New World and Old World atheriniform species. We also discuss the existence of molecular and histological mechanisms to prevent the discrepant differentiation in parts of the gonads because of ambiguous or conflicting environmental and genetic signals and particularly the possibility that the female is the default state in these species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos A Strüssmann
- Graduate School of Marine Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yoji Yamamoto
- Graduate School of Marine Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Ricardo S Hattori
- Graduate School of Marine Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Juan I Fernandino
- Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús (CONICET-UNSAM), Chascomús, Argentina
| | - Gustavo M Somoza
- Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús (CONICET-UNSAM), Chascomús, Argentina
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20
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Hattori RS, Castañeda-Cortés DC, Arias Padilla LF, Strobl-Mazzulla PH, Fernandino JI. Activation of stress response axis as a key process in environment-induced sex plasticity in fish. Cell Mol Life Sci 2020; 77:4223-4236. [PMID: 32367192 PMCID: PMC11104976 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-020-03532-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2020] [Revised: 03/26/2020] [Accepted: 04/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
The determination of sex is an important hallmark in the life cycle of organisms, in which the fate of gonads and then the individual sex are defined. In gonochoristic teleost fish, this process is characterized by a high plasticity, considering that in spite of genotypic sex many environmental factors can cause shifts from one to another molecular pathway, resulting in organisms with mismatching genotypic and phenotypic sexes. Interestingly, in most instances, both female-to-male or male-to-female sex-reversed individuals develop functional gonads with normal gametogenesis and respective progenies with full viability. The study of these mechanisms is being spread to other non-model species or to those inhabiting more extreme environmental conditions. Although water temperature is an important mechanism involved in sex determination, there are other environmental stressors affected by the climate change which are also implicated in stress response-induced masculinization in fish. In this regard, the brain has emerged as the transducer of the environment input that can influence the gonadal fate. Furthermore, the evaluation of other environmental stressors or their synergic effect on sex determination at conditions that simulate the natural environments is growing gradually. Within such scope, the concerns related to climate change impacts rely on the fact that many of biotic and abiotic parameters reported to affect sex ratios are expected to increase concomitantly as a result of increased greenhouse gas emissions and, particularly worrying, many of them are related to male bias in the populations, such as high temperature, hypoxia, and acidity. These environmental changes can also generate epigenetic changes in sex-related genes affecting their expression, with implications on sex differentiation not only of exposed individuals but also in following generations. The co-analysis of multi-stressors with potential inter- and transgenerational effects is essential to allow researchers to perform long-term predictions on climate change impacts in wild populations and for establishing highly accurate monitoring tools and suitable mitigation strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- R S Hattori
- Salmonid Experimental Station at Campos do Jordão, UPD-CJ (APTA/SAA), Campos do Jordão, Brazil
| | - D C Castañeda-Cortés
- Laboratorio de Biología del Desarrollo, Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús (CONICET-UNSAM), Chascomús, Argentina
| | - L F Arias Padilla
- Laboratorio de Biología del Desarrollo, Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús (CONICET-UNSAM), Chascomús, Argentina
| | - P H Strobl-Mazzulla
- Laboratorio de Biología del Desarrollo, Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús (CONICET-UNSAM), Chascomús, Argentina
| | - J I Fernandino
- Laboratorio de Biología del Desarrollo, Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús (CONICET-UNSAM), Chascomús, Argentina.
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21
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Metabonomic Insights into the Sperm Activation Mechanisms in Ricefield Eel ( Monopterus albus). Genes (Basel) 2020; 11:genes11111259. [PMID: 33114541 PMCID: PMC7692440 DOI: 10.3390/genes11111259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2020] [Revised: 10/21/2020] [Accepted: 10/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
In fish, sperm motility activation is one of the most essential procedures for fertilization. Previous studies have mainly focused on the external environmental effects and intracellular signals in sperm activation; however, little is known about the metabolic process of sperm motility activation in fish. In the present study, using ricefield eel (Monopterus albus) sperm as a model, metabonomics was used to analyze the metabolic mechanism of the sperm motility activation in fish. Firstly, 529 metabolites were identified in the sperm of ricefield eel, which were clustered into the organic acids, amino acids, nucleotides, benzene, and carbohydrates, respectively. Among them, the most abundant metabolites in sperm were L-phenylalanine, DL-leucine, L-leucine, lysolecithin choline 18:0, L-tryptophan, adenine, hypoxanthine, 7-Methylguanine, shikimic acid, and L-tyrosine. Secondly, compared to pre-activated sperm, the level of S-sulfo-L-cysteine and L-asparagine were both increased in the post-activated sperm. Ninety-two metabolites were decreased in the post-activated sperm, including quinic acid, acetylsalicylic acid, 7,8-dihydro L-biopterin, citric acid, glycylphenylalanine, and dihydrotachysterol (DHT). Finally, basing on the pathway analysis, we found that the changed metabolites in sperm motility activation were mainly clustered into energy metabolism and anti-oxidative stress. Fish sperm motility activation would be accompanied by the release of a large amount of energy, which might damage the genetic material of sperm. Thus, the anti-oxidative stress function is a critical process to maintain the normal physiological function of sperm.
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22
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Ding W, Cao L, Cao Z, Bing X. Transcriptome analysis of blood for the discovery of sex-related genes in ricefield eel Monopterus albus. FISH PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY 2020; 46:1507-1518. [PMID: 32472467 DOI: 10.1007/s10695-020-00809-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2019] [Accepted: 04/14/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The blood acts as a transfer channel for a variety of factors in the whole body. The ricefield eel (Monopterus albus) is a protogynous hermaphrodite vertebrate. Until now, no research has reported an analysis of the blood transcriptome during the process of sexual development in the ricefield eel. In this study, the transcriptome sequencing of blood samples from male and female ricefield eels was completed with a total of 34.70 Gb clean data. The clean data of each sample all reached 5.23 GB, and the percent of the Q30 basic group was 88.62% and above. A total of 106,369 unigenes were obtained after assembly, including 13,296 unigenes with a length of more than 1 kb. Further functional annotation analysis showed that there are 28,522 unigenes that can be annotated. The annotations of genes with differential expression revealed that there were 563 genes with significant differential expression in the blood of male and female ricefield eels, including 91 upregulated genes and 472 downregulated genes. Among which, 14 genes may be closely related to sex differentiation, the qPCR was used to confirmed the expression pattern of those genes and result shown that 11 genes were downregulated and 3 genes were upregulated, consistent with the results of our RNA-Seq analysis. This blood transcript dataset will open future research avenues on ricefield eel sex development and differentiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weidong Ding
- Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fisheries and Germplasm Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Freshwater Fisheries Research Center, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuxi, 214081, China
| | - Liping Cao
- Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fisheries and Germplasm Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Freshwater Fisheries Research Center, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuxi, 214081, China
| | - Zheming Cao
- Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fisheries and Germplasm Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Freshwater Fisheries Research Center, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuxi, 214081, China
| | - Xuwen Bing
- Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fisheries and Germplasm Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Freshwater Fisheries Research Center, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuxi, 214081, China.
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23
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Kottmann JS, Jørgensen MGP, Bertolini F, Loh A, Tomkiewicz J. Differential impacts of carp and salmon pituitary extracts on induced oogenesis, egg quality, molecular ontogeny and embryonic developmental competence in European eel. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0235617. [PMID: 32634160 PMCID: PMC7340298 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0235617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2020] [Accepted: 06/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Low egg quality and embryonic survival are critical challenges in aquaculture, where assisted reproduction procedures and other factors may impact egg quality. This includes European eel (Anguilla anguilla), where pituitary extract from carp (CPE) or salmon (SPE) is applied to override a dopaminergic inhibition of the neuroendocrine system, preventing gonadotropin secretion and gonadal development. The present study used either CPE or SPE to induce vitellogenesis in female European eel and compared impacts on egg quality and offspring developmental competence with emphasis on the maternal-to-zygotic transition (MZT). Females treated with SPE produced significantly higher proportions of floating eggs with fewer cleavage abnormalities and higher embryonic survival. These findings related successful embryogenesis to higher abundance of mRNA transcripts of genes involved in cell adhesion, activation of MZT, and immune response (dcbld1, epcam, oct4, igm) throughout embryonic development. The abundance of mRNA transcripts of cldnd, foxr1, cea, ccna1, ccnb1, ccnb2, zar1, oct4, and npm2 was relatively stable during the first eight hours, followed by a drop during MZT and low levels thereafter, indicating transfer and subsequent clearance of maternal mRNA. mRNA abundance of zar1, epcam, and dicer1 was associated with cleavage abnormalities, while mRNA abundance of zar1, sox2, foxr1, cldnd, phb2, neurod4, and neurog1 (before MZT) was associated with subsequent embryonic survival. In a second pattern, low initial mRNA abundance with an increase during MZT and higher levels persisting thereafter indicating the activation of zygotic transcription. mRNA abundance of ccna1, npm2, oct4, neurod4, and neurog1 during later embryonic development was associated with hatch success. A deviating pattern was observed for dcbld1, which mRNA levels followed the maternal-effect gene pattern but only for embryos from SPE treated females. Together, the differences in offspring production and performance reported in this study show that PE composition impacts egg quality and embryogenesis and in particular, the transition from initial maternal transcripts to zygotic transcription.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johanna S. Kottmann
- National Institute of Aquatic Resources, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | | | - Francesca Bertolini
- National Institute of Aquatic Resources, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Adrian Loh
- School of Science, University of Greenwich, Chatham Maritime, Kent, United Kingdom
| | - Jonna Tomkiewicz
- National Institute of Aquatic Resources, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
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24
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Wang Y, Zhang J, Zhou Q, Wang Z, Gao M, Yang X, Liu Y, Zhang Z, Jiang W, Hu C, Zhang W. Analysis of the Intestinal Flora in Male Versus Female Swamp Eels ( Monopterus albus). Front Microbiol 2020; 11:699. [PMID: 32425902 PMCID: PMC7203450 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.00699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2019] [Accepted: 03/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
This study aimed to analyze the intestinal flora of male versus female swamp eels, which have the unique characteristic of sex reversal. Same-aged swamp eels from the same parents, kept under the same conditions in terms of environment, diet, etc., were used as the study materials. After breeding for 1 year, 18 healthy swamp eels (nine males and nine females), weighing 39.4 ± 2.3 g, were selected. The intestinal contents of three swamp eels of the same sex were combined and labeled as follows: FM1-FM3 (n = 3) for females and MM1-MM3 (n = 3) for males. High-throughput sequencing was used to research the v3-v4 region of 16S rDNA in the intestinal flora. The results suggested significant differences in the structure, composition, and diversity of the intestinal flora of male versus female swamp eels. The relative abundances of Actinobacteria and Spirochaetes in female swamp eels were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than in male swamp eels at the phylum level. The relative abundances of Mycobacterium, Bacillus, and Vagococcus in female swamp eels were considerably higher (p < 0.05) than in male swamp eels at the genus level. The Alpha diversity of females was higher than that of males, and the Shannon index of females was also significantly higher (p < 0.05, Tukey’s HSD) than that in males. Investigations of Beta diversity, including NMDS ordination, UPGMA cluster analysis, and PLS-DA analysis, showed that female and male swamp eels could be clearly distinguished based on significant differences in intestinal flora between the FM group and the MM group. LEfSe analysis showed that the dominant bacteria were Cetobacterium in male swamp eels and Clostridium_sp_ND2, Mycobacterium, Alphaproteobacteria, and Bacilli in female swamp eels. The results showed dramatic differences in the intestinal flora between the sexes, which indicates the need for a more in-depth study on sex reversal in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Wang
- Aquatic Animal Research Laboratory, College of Animal Science and Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China
| | - Jinhua Zhang
- Aquatic Animal Research Laboratory, College of Animal Science and Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China
| | - Qiubai Zhou
- Aquatic Animal Research Laboratory, College of Animal Science and Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China
| | - Zirui Wang
- Aquatic Animal Research Laboratory, College of Animal Science and Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China
| | - Miao Gao
- Aquatic Animal Research Laboratory, College of Animal Science and Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China
| | - Xin Yang
- Aquatic Animal Research Laboratory, College of Animal Science and Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China
| | - Yu Liu
- Aquatic Animal Research Laboratory, College of Animal Science and Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China
| | - Zhengzhou Zhang
- Aquatic Animal Research Laboratory, College of Animal Science and Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China
| | - Wenhao Jiang
- Aquatic Animal Research Laboratory, College of Animal Science and Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China
| | - Chonghua Hu
- Aquatic Animal Research Laboratory, College of Animal Science and Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China
| | - Wenping Zhang
- Aquatic Animal Research Laboratory, College of Animal Science and Technology, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China
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25
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Hu Q, Xiao H, Wang Q, Tian H, Meng Y. Identification and expression of forkhead box genes in the Chinese giant salamander Andrias davidianus. Reprod Fertil Dev 2019; 30:634-642. [PMID: 28945985 DOI: 10.1071/rd17049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2017] [Accepted: 09/07/2017] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
In the present study, 21 forkhead box (Fox) genes were identified in Andrias davidianus, including 13 full-length genes and eight partial sequences. Phylogenetic analysis showed that most were conserved in other investigated amphibians, whereas the Foxk1 gene was found exclusively in A. davidianus. Molecular evolution analysis indicated that most Fox genes underwent purifying selection, whereas two sites of the adFoxp4 gene showed positive selection and were located on the adFoxp4 protein surface. Expression profiles of all Fox genes identified were analysed in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonad axis by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Eighteen genes exhibited sexually dimorphic expression (15 ovary-biased and three testis-biased genes), whereas two genes showed no difference between ovary and testis. Further investigation of 12 selected sexually dimorphic Fox genes showed changes in the expression profile of 11 genes in the ovary of larvae reared at high temperatures (28°C). The results of the present study provide information on Fox genes in an amphibian and suggest that they play key roles in sexual development and reproduction in A. davidianus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiaomu Hu
- Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei, 430223, China
| | - Hanbing Xiao
- Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei, 430223, China
| | - Qilong Wang
- Tengzhou Fisheries Center, Tengzhou, Shandong, 277500, China
| | - Haifeng Tian
- Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei, 430223, China
| | - Yan Meng
- Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei, 430223, China
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26
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Yi TL, Pei MT, Yang DQ. Expression patterns of kiss2 and gpr54-2 in Monopterus albus suggest these genes may play a role in sex reversal in fish. FEBS Open Bio 2019; 9:1835-1844. [PMID: 31446680 PMCID: PMC6768111 DOI: 10.1002/2211-5463.12727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2019] [Revised: 08/04/2019] [Accepted: 08/23/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Due to its exceptionally small genome size and protogynous hermaphroditism, Monopterus albus has been proposed as a model for vertebrate sexual development. The Kiss/GPR54 system is a central regulator of sexual development in most vertebrates, but its role in sex reversal remains hypothetical. In contrast to mammals, fishes often possess more than one copy of the kiss and gpr54 genes. Our objectives were to identify all kiss/gpr54 genes in the genome of M. albus and to assess their involvement in sex reversal via their expression patterns (qPCR) in females, males, and intersex specimens. We identified only two genes: kiss2 and gpr54‐2. kiss2 expression was extremely high in the gonads of males, intermediate in females, and low in intersex; and reduced in all tissues of intersex. gpr54 expression was also extremely high in the gonads of males, high in intersex, but low in females. gpr54 expression in brain was high in all three sexes. In conclusion, (a) kiss1 has been functionally replaced in M. albus; (b) the functions of gpr54‐2 in brain are not sex‐specific; (c) kiss2 appears to undergo a ‘reset’ in the expression during the sex change; and (d) sex‐specific expression patterns in the gonads indicate that these two genes may play a role in sex reversal in fish.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ti-Lin Yi
- Yangtze University Engineering Research Center for Ecology and Agriculture Use of Wetland, Ministry of Education, Jingzhou, China.,School of Animal Science, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China
| | - Meng-Ting Pei
- Hubei Provincial Engineering and Technology Research Center for Monopterus albus, Jingzhou, China.,Hubei Zhongqing Aquaculture Industry Technology Research Institute and limited company, Jingzhou, 434026, China
| | - Dai-Qin Yang
- Yangtze University Engineering Research Center for Ecology and Agriculture Use of Wetland, Ministry of Education, Jingzhou, China.,School of Animal Science, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China
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27
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Xiao Q, Sun Y, Liang X, Zhang L, Onxayvieng K, Li Z, Li D. Visualizing primordial germ cell migration in embryos of rice field eel (Monopterus albus) using fluorescent protein tagged 3' untranslated regions of nanos3, dead end and vasa. Comp Biochem Physiol B Biochem Mol Biol 2019; 235:62-69. [PMID: 31176867 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpb.2019.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2019] [Revised: 05/25/2019] [Accepted: 06/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
In rice field eel (Monopterus albus), germ cell development in the developing gonad has been revealed in detail. However, it is unclear how primordial germ cells (PGCs) migrate to the somatic part of the gonad (genital ridge). This study visualized PGC migration by injecting a chimeric mRNA containing a fluorescent protein fused to the 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) of three different genes, nanos3 of zebrafish (Danio rerio) and dead end (dnd) and vasa of rice field eel. The mRNAs were injected either alone or in pairs into embryos at the one-cell stage. The results showed that mRNAs containing nanos3 and dnd 3'UTRs labeled PGCs over a wider time frame than those containing vasa 3'UTR, suggesting that nanos3 and dnd 3'UTRs are suitable for visualizing PGCs in rice field eel. Using this direct visualization method, the normal migration route of PGCs was observed from the 50%-epiboly stage to hatching stage for the first time, and the ectopic PGCs were also visualized during this period in rice field eel. These findings extend our knowledge of germ cell development, and lay a foundation for further research on the relationship between PGCs and sex differentiation, and on incubation conditions for embryos in rice field eel.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qing Xiao
- Hubei Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Pond Aquaculture, College of Fisheries, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Yiqing Sun
- Hubei Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Pond Aquaculture, College of Fisheries, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Xiao Liang
- Hubei Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Pond Aquaculture, College of Fisheries, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Lihan Zhang
- Hubei Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Pond Aquaculture, College of Fisheries, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Kommaly Onxayvieng
- Hubei Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Pond Aquaculture, College of Fisheries, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Zhong Li
- Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan 430223, China.
| | - Dapeng Li
- Hubei Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Pond Aquaculture, College of Fisheries, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
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28
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Cheung CT, Patinote A, Guiguen Y, Bobe J. foxr1 is a novel maternal-effect gene in fish that is required for early embryonic success. PeerJ 2018; 6:e5534. [PMID: 30155373 PMCID: PMC6109588 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.5534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2018] [Accepted: 08/08/2018] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
The family of forkhead box (Fox) transcription factors regulates gonadogenesis and embryogenesis, but the role of foxr1 in reproduction is unknown. Evolutionary history of foxr1 in vertebrates was examined and the gene was found to exist in most vertebrates, including mammals, ray-finned fish, amphibians, and sauropsids. By quantitative PCR and RNA-seq, we found that foxr1 had an ovarian-specific expression in zebrafish, a common feature of maternal-effect genes. In addition, it was demonstrated using in situ hybridization that foxr1 was a maternally-inherited transcript that was highly expressed even in early-stage oocytes and accumulated in the developing eggs during oogenesis. We also analyzed the function of foxr1 in female reproduction using a zebrafish CRISPR/cas9 knockout model. It was observed that embryos from the foxr1-deficient females had a significantly lower survival rate whereby they either failed to undergo cell division or underwent abnormal division that culminated in growth arrest at around the mid-blastula transition and early death. These mutant-derived eggs contained dramatically increased levels of p21, a cell cycle inhibitor, and reduced rictor, a component of mTOR and regulator of cell survival, which were in line with the observed growth arrest phenotype. Our study shows for the first time that foxr1 is an essential maternal-effect gene and may be required for proper cell division and survival via the p21 and mTOR pathways. These novel findings will broaden our knowledge on the functions of specific maternal factors stored in the developing egg and the underlying mechanisms that contribute to reproductive success.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Amélie Patinote
- LPGP, UR1037 Fish Physiology and Genomics, INRA, Rennes, France
| | - Yann Guiguen
- LPGP, UR1037 Fish Physiology and Genomics, INRA, Rennes, France
| | - Julien Bobe
- LPGP, UR1037 Fish Physiology and Genomics, INRA, Rennes, France
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