WD Repeat‐containing Protein 73, A Novel Gene Correlated with Gonad Development in Large Yellow Croaker, Larimichthys crocea

Abstract

The genome of Larimichthys crocea harbors more than 200 putative WD40 proteins. Yet, the function of these WD40 proteins remains unknown. Here a WD40 gene, wd73 was cloned and characterized in L. crocea (named as Lcwdr73). The cDNA is 1706 bp, including a 5 ′ untranslated region (UTR) of 51 bp, a 3 ′ UTR of 509 bp and an open reading frame of 1146 bp encoding 381 amino acid residues. The putative LcWDR73 protein contains three WD40 domain motifs. The tissue expression profiles of both sexes revealed that Lcwdr73 was extremely highly expressed in testis and ovary, moderate in kidney and brain, and low in the other tissues by quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis. Based on histology, the gonad development of L. crocea was divided into four phases, that is, proliferative stage (Phase I), small developmental stage (Phase II), grand developmental stage (Phase III), and mature stage (Phase IV). With the gonad development, Lcwdr73 mRNA increased and reached a peak in Phase IV, and the expression in testes is significantly higher than that in ovaries, especially from Phase II to Phase IV, indicating that Lcwdr73 may play an important role during gonad development in L. crocea. The resutlts lay a foundation to control precocious puberty of L. crocea.

Transcriptome Sequencing Reveals the Traits of Spermatogenesis and Testicular Development in Large Yellow Croaker (Larimichthys crocea)

“…Previous studies have focused on the reproductive and developmental biology of L. crocea based on anatomical/histological aspects [6,7], whereas few studies have focused on genes related to spermatogenesis and testicular development. To the best of our knowledge, only a small number of reproduction-related genes have been identified in L. crocea [8][9][10][11]. To further comprehensively explore the molecular mechanisms underlying spermatogenesis and testicular development in L. crocea, large-scale genetic resources must be identified and studied.Recently, RNA-Seq technology has been widely used to explain biological processes in almost all organisms.…”

Expression profiling of WD40 family genes including DDB1- and CUL4- associated factor (DCAF) genes in mice and human suggests important regulatory roles in testicular development and spermatogenesis

“…Similarly, mouse Wdr13 gene exhibited expression during early stages of gonadal development through adult testis with a predominant expression in the germ cells of adult testis [ 63 ]. Another study on Wdr73 expression in Larimichthys crocea demonstrated that the Wdr73 expression increased with the advancement of gonad development, starting from proliferative stage to mature stage [ 62 ].…”