Preliminary insights into the molecular mechanism of energy metabolism on sex differentiation in chickens based on transcriptome sequencing

Abstract

Mammalians sex determination is well-known, and sophisticated mechanisms to sex control have been developed. However, effective sex control in poultry has not yet been developed. Through RNA-sequencing of the male gonads and ovarian tissues of chicken embryos up to 18.5 days, we identified the primary metabolic factors affecting male and female sex differentiation and gonadal development. Pkm2, an essential glycolysis-related protein, influences sex differentiation in chickens via Gapdh, a crucial hormone gene. Glycolysis-related sex regulation also involves epigenetic alterations such as transcription factor (Srf, Myb, Tead1), acetylation (Hdac3), and phosphorylation (Nfkbia, Ikbkb) modifications. Our findings support the concept that glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation contribute upstream to sexual phenotypic development and maintenance.