Abstract
BackgroundThe dark sleeper (Odontobutis potamophila) is an important commercial fish species which shows a sexually dimorphic growth pattern. However, the lack of sex transcriptomic data is hindering further research and genetically selective breeding of the dark sleeper. In this study, integrated analysis of mRNA and miRNA was performed on gonad tissue to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of sex determination and differentiation in the dark sleeper.ResultsA total of 143 differentially expressed miRNAs and 16,540 differentially expressed genes were identified. Of these, 8103 mRNAs and 75 miRNAs were upregulated in testes, and 8437 mRNAs and 68 miRNAs were upregulated in ovaries. Integrated analysis of miRNA and mRNA expression profiles predicted more than 50,000 miRNA-mRNA interaction sites, and among them 27,583 negative miRNA-mRNA interactions. A number of sex related genes were targeted by sex-biased miRNAs. The relationship between 15 sex-biased genes and 15 sex-biased miRNAs verified by using qRT-PCR were described. Additionally, a number of SNPs were revealed through the transcriptome data.ConclusionsThe overall results of this study facilitate our understanding of the molecular mechanism underlying sex determination and differentiation and provide valuable genomic information for selective breeding of the dark sleeper.
Highlights
The dark sleeper (Odontobutis potamophila) is an important commercial fish species which shows a sexually dimorphic growth pattern
An integration analysis was conducted in order to identify target genes of miRNAs and characterize their functional roles in gonad tissues of the dark sleeper. These findings provide us with further insight into the regulatory mechanisms associated with sex determination and gonadal differentiation
Analysis of transcriptome sequencing of O. potamophila gonad tissue Very few studies focusing on regulatory mechanisms of sex determination and gonadal differentiation in dark sleepers exist
Summary
The dark sleeper (Odontobutis potamophila) is an important commercial fish species which shows a sexually dimorphic growth pattern. The dark sleeper (Odontobutis potamophila) is a gonochoristic species widely distributed in the river systems of southeastern China [8]. It is an important commercial fish species due to its delicious taste and high nutritional value, in recent years the dark sleeper has become a very promising aquaculture species in China. It is important to understand the regulatory mechanisms of sex determination and gonadal differentiation in this species and enlarge the public EST database. In order to understand these mechanisms in detail at the molecular level and to provide a theoretical basis for selective breeding, the regulatory mechanisms associated with gonadal differences need to be studied at the genomic level
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