Abstract
Sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus intermedius) is an economically important mariculture species in Asia, and its gonads are the only edible part. The efficiency of genetic breeding in sea urchins is hampered due to the inability to distinguish gender by appearance. In this study, we first identified a sex-associated single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) by combining type IIB endonuclease restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (2b-RAD-seq) and genome survey. Importantly, this SNP is located within spata4, a gene specifically expressed in male. Knocking down of spata4 by RNA interference (RNAi) in male individuals led to the downregulation of other conserved testis differentiation-related genes and germ cell marker genes. We also revealed that sex ratio in this validated culture population of S. intermedius is not 1:1. Moreover, after a 58-day feeding experiment with estradiol, the expression levels of several conserved genes that are related to testis differentiation, ovary differentiation, and estrogen metabolism were dynamically changed. Taken together, our results will contribute toward improving breeding efficiency, developing sex-controlled breeding, and providing a solid base for understanding sex determination mechanisms in sea urchins.
Highlights
Sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus intermedius) belongs to Echinodermata and is an important commercial species mainly distributed in several Asian countries, such as China, Korea, and Japan [1]
Feeding E2 will increase the rate of ovarian growth but inhibited oocyte growth in Lytechinus variegatus [30]. It is still a mystery whether vertebrate-type steroids can be measured in S. intermedius and whether they have potential effects on gonadal development and gene expression patterns related to sex differentiation
Besides the practical implications for improving breeding efficiency, these findings provide a molecular basis for understanding sex determination mechanisms in sea urchin
Summary
Sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus intermedius) belongs to Echinodermata and is an important commercial species mainly distributed in several Asian countries, such as China, Korea, and Japan [1]. It has been reported that vertebrate-type steroids can be measured in some invertebrates, such as in Scylla serrata [21] and Chlamys farreri [22] It is still unclear whether those detected hormones are endogenously synthesized or picked up from the environment [23, 24]. Feeding E2 will increase the rate of ovarian growth but inhibited oocyte growth in Lytechinus variegatus [30] It is still a mystery whether vertebrate-type steroids can be measured in S. intermedius and whether they have potential effects on gonadal development and gene expression patterns related to sex differentiation. The function implication of spata in testis development had been investigated by means of RNAi. we measured vertebrate-type steroids in S. intermedius and detected the effect of dietary administration of estradiol on testis development and sex-related gene expression in male individuals. Besides the practical implications for improving breeding efficiency, these findings provide a molecular basis for understanding sex determination mechanisms in sea urchin
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