title: The rice field eel as a model system for vertebrate sexual development.
abstract: Complex developmental mechanisms of vertebrates are unraveled using comparative genomic approaches. Several teleosts, such as zebrafish, medaka and pufferfish, are used as genetic model systems because they are amenable to studies of gene function. The rice field eel, a freshwater fish, is emerging as a specific model system for studies of vertebrate sexual development because of its small genome size and naturally occurring sex reversal. Data presented here support the use of the rice field eel as another important fish model for comparative genome studies, especially in vertebrate sexual development. This model system is complementary rather than redundant.
authors.affiliation: Center for Developmental Biology and Department of Genetics, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, P.R. China.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002875:Chromosomes / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005260:Female; D016678:Genome; D006066:Gonads / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D057850:Hermaphroditic Organisms; D008297:Male; D023421:Models, Animal; D012275:Oryza; D019849:Sex Determination Processes; D012733:Sex Differentiation; D023701:Smegmamorpha / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000235:genetics*; D014714:Vertebrates / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics