title: Identification of Dmrt genes and their up-regulation during gonad transformation in the swamp eel (Monopterus albus).
abstract: The swamp eel is a teleost fish with a characteristic of natural sex reversal and an ideal model for vertebrate sexual development. However, underlying molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. We report the identification of five DM (doublesex and mab-3) domain genes in the swamp eel that include Dmrt2, Dmrt2b, Dmrt3, Dmrt4 and Dmrt5, which encode putative proteins of 527, 373, 471, 420 and 448 amino acids, respectively. Phylogenetic tree showed that these genes are clustered into corresponding branches of the DM genes in vertebrates. Southern blot analysis indicated that the Dmrt1-Dmrt3-Dmrt2 genes are tightly linked in a conserved gene cluster. Notably, these Dmrt genes are up-regulated during gonad transformation. Furthermore, mRNA in situ hybridisation showed that Dmrt2, Dmrt3, Dmrt4 and Dmrt5 are expressed in developing germ cells. These results are evidence that the DM genes are involved in sexual differentiation in the swamp eel.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics and Center for Developmental Biology, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sheng
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Liao
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Majing
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Hanhua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Rongjia
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005810:Multigene Family; D010802:Phylogeny; D019849:Sex Determination Processes; D023701:Smegmamorpha / Q000235:genetics*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: C110547:DMRT1 protein; D014157:Transcription Factors