Gonadal Transcriptome Analysis Reveals that SOX17 and CYP26A1 are Involved in Sex Differentiation in the Chinese Soft-Shelled Turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis).

IF 2.1 4区生物学 Q4 BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

Biochemical Genetics Pub Date : 2025-06-01 Epub Date: 2024-05-06 DOI:10.1007/s10528-024-10815-4

Gang Wan, Hui Zhang, Pei Wang, Qin Qin, Xianwen Zhou, Gang Xiong, Xiaoqing Wang, Yazhou Hu

{"title":"Gonadal Transcriptome Analysis Reveals that SOX17 and CYP26A1 are Involved in Sex Differentiation in the Chinese Soft-Shelled Turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis).","authors":"Gang Wan, Hui Zhang, Pei Wang, Qin Qin, Xianwen Zhou, Gang Xiong, Xiaoqing Wang, Yazhou Hu","doi":"10.1007/s10528-024-10815-4","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The Chinese soft-shelled turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis) is an important aquaculture animal in China and exhibits growth dimorphism. Single-male cultures are often selected for higher economic efficiency. However, the mechanism of sex differentiation in P. sinensis is not well-known. In this study, a comparative transcriptome analysis of male (ZZ)- and 17β-oestradiol (E2)-induced pseudo-female (ZZ + E2)-stage embryonic gonads of P. sinensis was performed. A total of 420 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), which included 271 upregulated genes and 149 downregulated genes, were identified. These DEGs were mainly involved in several sex-related pathways, such as \"ovarian steroidogenesis\", \"steroid hormone biosynthesis\", \"PPAR signalling pathway\", and \"metabolism of xenobiotics by cytochrome P450\". In addition, 50 known and novel candidate genes involved in sex differentiation, such as the male-biased genes AMH, DMRT1, TBX1, and CYP26A1 and the female-biased genes CYP1A1, RASD1, and SOX17, were investigated and identified. For further verification, the full-length cDNAs of SOX17 and CYP26A1 were obtained. SOX17 contains a 1218-bp ORF and encodes 405 amino acids containing an HMG functional domain unique to the Sox superfamily. CYP26A1 contains a 1485-bp ORF and encodes 494 amino acids. Different expression levels of SOX17 and CYP26A1 could be detected in all the tested tissues of males and females. Notably, the expression of CYP26A1 was markedly greater in the gonads of male embryos (P < 0.05) than in those of female embryos, whereas the expression of SOX17 showed the opposite trend (P < 0.05). Taken together, the RNA-seq and qRT‒PCR results suggested potential roles for SOX17 and CYP26A1 in promoting female and male gonadal development, respectively, in P. sinensis. Our results provide new evidence for the mechanism of sex differentiation in P. sinensis.</p>","PeriodicalId":482,"journal":{"name":"Biochemical Genetics","volume":" ","pages":"2190-2210"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Biochemical Genetics","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10528-024-10815-4","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/5/6 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

The Chinese soft-shelled turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis) is an important aquaculture animal in China and exhibits growth dimorphism. Single-male cultures are often selected for higher economic efficiency. However, the mechanism of sex differentiation in P. sinensis is not well-known. In this study, a comparative transcriptome analysis of male (ZZ)- and 17β-oestradiol (E2)-induced pseudo-female (ZZ + E2)-stage embryonic gonads of P. sinensis was performed. A total of 420 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), which included 271 upregulated genes and 149 downregulated genes, were identified. These DEGs were mainly involved in several sex-related pathways, such as "ovarian steroidogenesis", "steroid hormone biosynthesis", "PPAR signalling pathway", and "metabolism of xenobiotics by cytochrome P450". In addition, 50 known and novel candidate genes involved in sex differentiation, such as the male-biased genes AMH, DMRT1, TBX1, and CYP26A1 and the female-biased genes CYP1A1, RASD1, and SOX17, were investigated and identified. For further verification, the full-length cDNAs of SOX17 and CYP26A1 were obtained. SOX17 contains a 1218-bp ORF and encodes 405 amino acids containing an HMG functional domain unique to the Sox superfamily. CYP26A1 contains a 1485-bp ORF and encodes 494 amino acids. Different expression levels of SOX17 and CYP26A1 could be detected in all the tested tissues of males and females. Notably, the expression of CYP26A1 was markedly greater in the gonads of male embryos (P < 0.05) than in those of female embryos, whereas the expression of SOX17 showed the opposite trend (P < 0.05). Taken together, the RNA-seq and qRT‒PCR results suggested potential roles for SOX17 and CYP26A1 in promoting female and male gonadal development, respectively, in P. sinensis. Our results provide new evidence for the mechanism of sex differentiation in P. sinensis.

查看原文本刊更多论文

性腺转录组分析显示 SOX17 和 CYP26A1 参与中华鳖的性别分化

中华鳖（Pelodiscus sinensis）是中国重要的水产养殖动物，具有生长二态性。为了提高经济效益，通常会选择单雄养殖。然而，中华鳖的性别分化机制并不为人所知。本研究对雄性（ZZ）和17β-雌二醇（E2）诱导的假雌性（ZZ + E2）阶段中华鳖胚胎性腺进行了转录组比较分析。共鉴定出 420 个差异表达基因（DEGs），包括 271 个上调基因和 149 个下调基因。这些差异表达基因主要涉及几个与性有关的通路，如 "卵巢类固醇生成"、"类固醇激素的生物合成"、"PPAR 信号通路 "和 "细胞色素 P450 对异种生物的代谢"。此外，还调查并确定了 50 个涉及性别分化的已知和新的候选基因，如偏向男性的基因 AMH、DMRT1、TBX1 和 CYP26A1 以及偏向女性的基因 CYP1A1、RASD1 和 SOX17。为了进一步验证，我们获得了 SOX17 和 CYP26A1 的全长 cDNA。SOX17 包含一个 1218-bp 的 ORF，编码 405 个氨基酸，其中含有 Sox 超家族特有的 HMG 功能域。CYP26A1 包含一个 1485-bp ORF，编码 494 个氨基酸。在所有测试的雌雄组织中，都能检测到不同水平的 SOX17 和 CYP26A1 表达。值得注意的是，CYP26A1 在雄性胚胎性腺中的表达量明显更高（P

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Biochemical Genetics 生物-生化与分子生物学

CiteScore

3.90

自引率

0.00%

发文量

133

审稿时长

4.8 months

期刊介绍： Biochemical Genetics welcomes original manuscripts that address and test clear scientific hypotheses, are directed to a broad scientific audience, and clearly contribute to the advancement of the field through the use of sound sampling or experimental design, reliable analytical methodologies and robust statistical analyses. Although studies focusing on particular regions and target organisms are welcome, it is not the journal’s goal to publish essentially descriptive studies that provide results with narrow applicability, or are based on very small samples or pseudoreplication. Rather, Biochemical Genetics welcomes review articles that go beyond summarizing previous publications and create added value through the systematic analysis and critique of the current state of knowledge or by conducting meta-analyses. Methodological articles are also within the scope of Biological Genetics, particularly when new laboratory techniques or computational approaches are fully described and thoroughly compared with the existing benchmark methods. Biochemical Genetics welcomes articles on the following topics: Genomics; Proteomics; Population genetics; Phylogenetics; Metagenomics; Microbial genetics; Genetics and evolution of wild and cultivated plants; Animal genetics and evolution; Human genetics and evolution; Genetic disorders; Genetic markers of diseases; Gene technology and therapy; Experimental and analytical methods; Statistical and computational methods.