Transcriptomic analysis revealed gene expression profiles during the sex differentiation of Chinese tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis)

pitpβ_w Encoding Phosphatidylinositol Transfer Protein Is Involved in Female Differentiation of Chinese Tongue Sole, Cynoglossus semilaevis

“…In tongue sole, we have observed a set of genes with the expression patterns similar to those of pitpβ_w and pitpβ_z . These genes are localized on the Z and W chromosomes, respectively ( Xu et al, 2021 ), producing similar transcripts and proteins but with distinguishable differences, and the transcripts from W chromosome-localized genes are usually female specific. Therefore, it would be interesting to test whether their functionality was redundant or divergent in the future.…”

“…Combining lncRNA and mRNA transcriptome analyses, Dong et al revealed several reproduction-related pathways and proposed that two lncRNAs were co-localized with cyp17a1 and cyp19a1 in the follicular cell layer ( Dong et al, 2021 ). In our previous transcriptomic analysis, a set of genes was identified to show female-specific expression and to be involved in female differentiation ( Xu et al, 2021 ). One of these genes, pitpβ_w , localized on the W chromosome, was chosen for further analysis including its expression pattern, cellular localization, and regulatory role in ovarian cell lines.…”

Potential Involvement of ewsr1-w Gene in Ovarian Development of Chinese Tongue Sole, Cynoglossus semilaevis

“…However, studies on teleost EWS protein are rare. Based on the comparative transcriptome analysis on early developmental stages of gonad in C. semilaevis , ewsr1-w was specifically expressed in ovary and continuously up-regulated with ovarian differentiation [ 15 ]. The amino acid sequences of Cs-Ewsr1-w and Cs-Ewsr1-z proteins have high similarity of 91.41%, both of which contained the conserved RNA recognition motif and Ran binding protein-zinc finger domain, suggesting that Cs-Ewsr1s might have similar function with Ewsr1s in other vertebrates.…”

“…It regulates genes involved in several cellular processes, including ubiquitination/proteasome [ 59 ]. Numerous ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme genes showed female-biased gene expressions in early developmental stages of C. semilaevis , revealing the indispensable involvement of ubiquitination pathway in female differentiation [ 15 ]. Based on the above analysis, we deduced that TF Mafk might be a positive regulator in Cs-ewsr1-w transcription during C. semilaevis ovarian development.…”

“…The female-biased gonadal gene igfbp7 (insulin-like growth factor binding protein 7) might be involved in growth regulation of C. semilaevis by influencing insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor ( igf1r ), serine/threonine kinase 1 ( akt ) and NFκB (the nuclear factor kappa B) signal [ 14 ]. To better understand the molecular mechanism refining sex determination and differentiation in C. semilaevis , comparative transcriptome analysis was performed to reveal 156 genes correlated with ovary differentiation, including RNA-binding protein Ewing Sarcoma protein-like ( ewsr1 ) gene [ 15 ].…”