PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are an emerging class of small RNAs which protect the animal germline genome against deleterious transposable elements. Nevertheless, the characteristics and sex-related expression patterns of piRNA in Collichthys lucidus remain unknown. In this study, we first performed systematic next-generation high-throughput sequencing in C. lucidus ovaries and testes. We identified 3,027,834 piRNAs across six gonad libraries. Of these, 2225 piRNAs were differently expressed between testes and ovaries; 1195 were upregulated and 1030 downregulated in the testes. Interestingly, the potential target genes of 208 differentially expressed piRNAs had sex-related functions, including germ cell development, gonad development, ovarian follicle development, gamete generation, spermatid development, and spermatogenesis. Moreover, these target genes are involved in the TGF-β, Wnt, MAPK, mTOR, VEGF, and PI3K-Akt pathways. Further, 10 piRNAs were derived from Nectin2 and Mea1, which play important roles in sexual reproduction, male gamete generation, and germ cell development. We also identified 5482 piRNA clusters across the gonads, among which 139 piRNA clusters were uniquely expressed in the testes and 98 in the ovaries. The expression of core sex-related piRNA was validated by real-time PCR. Overall, our findings provide significant insights into C. lucidus’ sex-related piRNAs.
Collichthys lucidus (C. lucidus) is an economically important fish species, exhibiting sexual dimorphism in its growth rate. However, there is a lack of research on its underlying sex-related mechanisms. Therefore, small RNA sequencing was performed to better comprehend these sex-related molecular mechanisms. In total, 171 differentially expressed miRNAs (DE-miRNAs) were identified between the ovaries and testes. Functional enrichment analysis revealed that the target genes of DE-miRNAs were considerably enriched in the p53 signaling, PI3K–Akt signaling, and TGF-beta signaling pathways. In addition, sex-related miRNAs were identified, and the expression of miR-430c-3p and miR-430f-3p was specifically observed in the gonads compared with other organs and their expression was markedly upregulated in the testes relative to the ovaries. Bmp15 was a target of miR-430c-3p and was greatly expressed in the ovaries compared with the testes. Importantly, miR-430c-3p and bmp15 co-expressed in the ovaries and testes. This research provides the first detailed miRNA profiles for C. lucidus concerning sex, likely laying the basis for further studies on sex differentiation in C. lucidus.
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