Comparative Transcriptomic Analysis of Male and Female Gonads in the Zig-Zag Eel (<i>Mastacembelus armatus</i>)
Fangyu Cui,
Yuanyuan Wang,
Haiyan Liang,
Yexin Yang,
Zhiyong Jiang,
Jiahuan Song,
Chao Liu,
Yuli Wu,
Xidong Mu,
Yi Liu
Affiliations
Fangyu Cui
Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control for Aquatic Invasive Alien Species, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Guangdong Engineering and Technology Research Center of Modern Recreational Fishery, Pearl River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Guangzhou 510380, China
Yuanyuan Wang
Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control for Aquatic Invasive Alien Species, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Guangdong Engineering and Technology Research Center of Modern Recreational Fishery, Pearl River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Guangzhou 510380, China
Haiyan Liang
Agricultural and Rural Bureau of Zengcheng District, Guangzhou 511300, China
Yexin Yang
Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control for Aquatic Invasive Alien Species, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Guangdong Engineering and Technology Research Center of Modern Recreational Fishery, Pearl River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Guangzhou 510380, China
Zhiyong Jiang
Agro-Tech Extension Center of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou 510520, China
Jiahuan Song
Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control for Aquatic Invasive Alien Species, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Guangdong Engineering and Technology Research Center of Modern Recreational Fishery, Pearl River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Guangzhou 510380, China
Chao Liu
Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control for Aquatic Invasive Alien Species, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Guangdong Engineering and Technology Research Center of Modern Recreational Fishery, Pearl River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Guangzhou 510380, China
Yuli Wu
Agro-Tech Extension Center of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou 510520, China
Xidong Mu
Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control for Aquatic Invasive Alien Species, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Guangdong Engineering and Technology Research Center of Modern Recreational Fishery, Pearl River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Guangzhou 510380, China
Yi Liu
Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control for Aquatic Invasive Alien Species, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Guangdong Engineering and Technology Research Center of Modern Recreational Fishery, Pearl River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Guangzhou 510380, China
The zig-zag eel (Mastacembelus armatus) is a unique economic fish species in China and exhibits significant dimorphism of male and female phenotypes. Cultivating all-male seedlings can significantly improve production efficiency. To investigate sex differentiation and gonadal development in M. armatus, high-throughput sequencing technology was used to analyze the transcriptomes of male and female gonads at different developmental stages, both before and after sex differentiation. We identified key genes involved in sex differentiation, male-specific differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including dmrt1, amh, sox9, gsdf, and dmrt2b, and female-biased DEGs, including foxl2, rspo1, gdf9, bmp15, and wnt4. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses revealed that signaling pathways such as MAPK, Wnt, and TGF-β play significant roles in sex differentiation in M. armatus. The expression levels of 13 sex-related genes, including dmrt1, sox9, amh, foxl2, rspo1, and wnt4, were determined by RT–qPCR in addition to RNA sequencing. RT-qPCR validation results were consistent with the transcriptomic data, confirming the reliability of our findings. This research provides valuable insights into the mechanisms of sex differentiation in M. armatus and lays a foundation for developing all-male populations in aquaculture.
