The investigation of sex‐differential open chromatin in liver, spleen and gonads in Larimichthys crocea through ATAC ‐seq

Abstract

Sex dimorphism is a fascinating science problem, which includes phenotypic, transcriptomic and epigenetic differences in male and female. To explore the landscape of transcriptome and its regulation in different sex in the large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea), we investigated the open chromatin using ATAC‐seq generated from livers, spleens and gonads in males and females. First, we found a male‐specific open chromatin region upstream of the dax1 gene, which contained Nr2e1 binding footprint. Second, the motif of Nfy was significantly enriched in the open chromatins of male spleen, liver and testis using Homer. Third, the motifs of RA signal transduction and Nr2f6 were in the female‐specific transcription factor footprints, which were only in ovary of the large yellow croaker, but not in the liver and spleen of female. Finally, we found a subset of super enhancers that drove the identity genes of specific cells within the testes and ovaries. In this study, the sex difference of fish was discussed from the perspective of open chromatin regions to fill the gap in this field.