Ehsan Pashay Ahi, Jukka-Pekka Verta, Johanna Kurko, Annukka Ruokolainen, Paul Vincent Debes, Craig R Primmer
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Sexual maturation in Atlantic salmon entails a transition in energy utilization, regulated by genes and environmental stimuli in sex-specific manner. Males require less energy, in the form of adiposity, to mature and typically mature younger than females. Maturation age is also influenced in a sex-dependent fashion by the vgll3 genotype (vestigial-like 3), a co-factor in the Hippo pathway. The underlying molecular processes of sex-dependent maturation age, and their interplay with adiposity and vgll3 genotypes, remain unclear.
Methods: To elucidate the mechanisms underlying sex- and genotype-specific maturation differences, we investigated the association of early (E) and late (L) maturation vgll3 alleles with the transcription of > 330 genes involved in the regulation of the Hippo pathway and sexual maturation, and related molecular signals in brain, adipose, and gonads.
Results: The strongest effect of vgll3 genotype was observed in adipose for females and in brain for males, highlighting sex-specific expression differences in association with vgll3 genotype. Genes related to ovarian development showed increased expression in vgll3*EE compared to vgll3*LL females. Moreover, vgll3*EE females compared to vgll3*EE males exhibited reduced markers of pre-adipocyte differentiation and lipolysis yet enhanced expression of genes related to adipocyte maturation and lipid storage. Brain gene expression further showed sex-specific expression signals for genes related to hormones and lipids, as well as tight junction assembly.
Conclusions: Overall, these sex-specific patterns point towards a greater lipid storage and slower energy utilization in females compared to males. These results suggest Hippo-dependent mechanisms may be important mediators of sex differences in maturation age in salmon.
期刊介绍：
Biology of Sex Differences is a unique scientific journal focusing on sex differences in physiology, behavior, and disease from molecular to phenotypic levels, incorporating both basic and clinical research. The journal aims to enhance understanding of basic principles and facilitate the development of therapeutic and diagnostic tools specific to sex differences. As an open-access journal, it is the official publication of the Organization for the Study of Sex Differences and co-published by the Society for Women's Health Research.
Topical areas include, but are not limited to sex differences in: genomics; the microbiome; epigenetics; molecular and cell biology; tissue biology; physiology; interaction of tissue systems, in any system including adipose, behavioral, cardiovascular, immune, muscular, neural, renal, and skeletal; clinical studies bearing on sex differences in disease or response to therapy.
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