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Dynamic methylation pattern of cyp19a1a core promoter during zebrafish ovarian folliculogenesis

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Abstract

In vertebrates, the aromatase coded by the cyp19a1a gene can catalyze the conversion from androgens to estrogens. Thus, the regulatory mechanisms of cyp19a1a gene expression are a critical research field in reproductive endocrinology. In this study, we use zebrafish as a model to study the dynamic methylation levels of the cyp19a1a gene core promoter during zebrafish ovarian folliculogenesis. The results show that there is an apparent fluctuation of the methylation levels of zebrafish cyp19a1a core promoter. Moreover, the methylation levels are inversely correlated with the expression levels of cyp19a1a transcripts when the ovarian follicles develop from PV into the MV stage. Also, the CpG dinucleotides which are close to the transcriptional starting site may have provided a significant blocking effect on inhibiting the transcriptional function of RNA polymerase II. Taken together, the results from the present study strongly suggest that DNA methylation was one of mechanisms that are involved in the regulation of cyp19a1a gene expression during folliculogenesis. This methylation mechanism modifying transcriptional process accompanied with zebrafish ovarian folliculogenesis might also shed new light on the regulation of cyp19a1a expression during the ovarian developmental stage in other vertebrates.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by the Marine Science Base Project for Scientific Research Training and Capacity Enhancement—Xiamen University, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. J1210050 and 31201977), the Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province (No. 2013J05029), and Xiamen Southern Oceanographic Center (No. 14GZY019NF19). Professor John Hodgkiss of The University of Hong Kong is thanked for his help with the English.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China

    Cuili Wang, Wanshu Hong & Shi Xi Chen

  2. College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China

    Jin Bai, Weida Gong, Cuili Wang, Yida Gao, Wanshu Hong & Shi Xi Chen

  3. Fujian Engineering Laboratory of Marine Bioproducts and Technology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China

    Wanshu Hong & Shi Xi Chen

  4. Fujian Collaborative Innovation Center for Exploitation and Utilization of Marine Biological Resources, Xiamen, 361102, China

    Wanshu Hong & Shi Xi Chen

Authors
  1. Jin Bai
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  2. Weida Gong
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  3. Cuili Wang
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  4. Yida Gao
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  5. Wanshu Hong
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Correspondence to Shi Xi Chen.

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Bai, J., Gong, W., Wang, C. et al. Dynamic methylation pattern of cyp19a1a core promoter during zebrafish ovarian folliculogenesis. Fish Physiol Biochem 42, 947–954 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-015-0187-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-015-0187-x

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