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Transcriptome Sequencing and Comparative Analysis of Ovary and Testis Identifies Potential Key Sex-Related Genes and Pathways in Scallop Patinopecten yessoensis

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Abstract

Bivalve mollusks have fascinatingly diverse modes of reproduction. However, research investigating sex determination and reproductive regulation in this group of animals is still in its infancy. In this study, transcriptomes of three ovaries and three testes of Yesso scallop were sequenced and analyzed. Transcriptome comparison revealed that 4394 genes were significantly different between ovaries and testes, of which 1973 were ovary-biased (upregulated in the ovaries) and 2421 were testis-biased. Crucial sex-determining genes that were previously reported in vertebrates and putatively present in bivalves, namely FOXL2, DMRT, SOXH, and SOXE, were investigated. The genes all possessed conserved functional domains and were detected in the gonads. Except for PySOXE, the other three genes were significantly differentially expressed between the ovaries and testes. PyFOXL2 was ovary-biased, and PyDMRT and PySOXH were testis-biased, suggesting that these three genes are likely to be key candidates for scallop sex determination/differentiation. Furthermore, GO and KEGG enrichment analyses were conducted for both ovary- and testis-biased genes. Interestingly, both neurotransmitter transporters and GABAergic synapse genes were overrepresented in the ovary-biased genes, suggesting that neurotransmitters, such as GABA and glycine, are likely to participate in scallop ovary development. Our study will assist in better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying bivalve sex determination and reproductive regulation.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31572600, 31322055) and Fok Ying-Tong Education Foundation (141026).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Marine Genetics and Breeding, College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China

    Yangping Li, Lingling Zhang, Yan Sun, Xiaoli Ma, Jing Wang, Ruojiao Li, Meiwei Zhang, Shi Wang, Xiaoli Hu & Zhenmin Bao

  2. Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China

    Lingling Zhang, Xiaoli Hu & Zhenmin Bao

  3. Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China

    Shi Wang

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  1. Yangping Li
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  3. Yan Sun
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Correspondence to Lingling Zhang.

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Li, Y., Zhang, L., Sun, Y. et al. Transcriptome Sequencing and Comparative Analysis of Ovary and Testis Identifies Potential Key Sex-Related Genes and Pathways in Scallop Patinopecten yessoensis . Mar Biotechnol 18, 453–465 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10126-016-9706-8

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