Abstract
We previously reported the microarray-based selection of three ovulation-related genes in zebrafish. We used a different selection method in this study, RNA sequencing analysis. An additional eight up-regulated candidates were found as specifically up-regulated genes in ovulation-induced samples. Changes in gene expression were confirmed by qPCR analysis. Furthermore, up-regulation prior to ovulation during natural spawning was verified in samples from natural pairing. Gene knock-out zebrafish strains of one of the candidates, the starmaker gene (stm), were established by CRISPR genome editing techniques. Unexpectedly, homozygous mutants were fertile and could spawn eggs. However, a high percentage of unfertilized eggs and abnormal embryos were produced from these homozygous females. The results suggest that the stm gene is necessary for fertilization. In this study, we selected additional ovulation-inducing candidate genes, and a novel function of the stm gene was investigated.
Highlights
Ovulation is a critical biological process that prepares fertilizable eggs prior to spawning
Raw read data were submitted to the DNA data bank of Japan (DDBJ), deposited as Bio project no
Ovulation is induced by the genomic actions of 17, 20β-DHP concurrently oocyte maturation that is induced by the non-genomic actions of same steroid [11]
Summary
Ovulation is a critical biological process that prepares fertilizable eggs prior to spawning. During this phase matured oocytes rupturing from the follicle layer require multiple factors, which regulate the phenomenon [1,2,3,4,5]. The binding of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) on the prostaglandin E2 receptor 4 (EP4) is required for ovulation in medaka [1, 9]. Ovulation is mediated by the nuclear progesterone receptor (nPR) through genomic steroid signaling mechanisms in zebrafish [4, 5]. A number of ovulation-associated genes involved in the luteinizing hormone (LH) signaling pathway have been reported [4]
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