title: Gonadal transcriptomic analysis of yellow catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco): identification of sex-related genes and genetic markers.
abstract: Yellow catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco) has been recognized as a vital freshwater aquaculture species in East and Southeast Asia. In addition to its commercial interest, it is also attracted much attention because of its value in studying sex-determination mechanisms. A comprehensive gonadal transcriptome analysis is believed to provide a resource for genome annotation, candidate gene identification, and molecular marker development. Herein, we performed a de novo assembly of yellow catfish gonad transcriptome by high-throughput Illumina sequencing. A total of 82,123 contigs were obtained, ranging from 351 to 21,268 bp, and N50 of 2,329 bp. Unigenes of 21,869 in total were identified. Of these, 229 and 1,188 genes were found to be specifically expressed in XY gonad tissue for 1 yr and 2 yr old yellow catfish, respectively; correspondingly, 51 and 40 genes were identified in XX gonad tissue at those two stages. Gene ontology and KEGG analysis were conducted and classified all contigs into different categories. A large number of unigenes involved in sex determination were identified, as well as microsatellites and SNP variants. The expression patterns of sex-related genes were then validated by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) suggesting the high reliability of RNA-Seq results. In this study, the transcriptome of yellow catfish gonad was first sequenced, assembled, and characterized; it provides a valuable genomic resource for better understanding of yellow catfish sex determination as well as development of molecular markers, thereby assisting in the production of monosex yellow catfish for aquaculture.
authors.affiliation: Heilongjiang River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Harbin, Peoples Republic of China; School of Computer Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China; National and Local United Engineering Lab for Freshwater Fish Breeding, Harbin, Peoples Republic of China;
authors.forename: Jianguo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Heilongjiang River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Harbin, Peoples Republic of China; National and Local United Engineering Lab for Freshwater Fish Breeding, Harbin, Peoples Republic of China;
authors.forename: Peixian
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Luan
authors.affiliation: Heilongjiang River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Harbin, Peoples Republic of China; National and Local United Engineering Lab for Freshwater Fish Breeding, Harbin, Peoples Republic of China;
authors.forename: Xiaofeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Heilongjiang River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Harbin, Peoples Republic of China; National and Local United Engineering Lab for Freshwater Fish Breeding, Harbin, Peoples Republic of China;
authors.forename: Shuqun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: Heilongjiang River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Harbin, Peoples Republic of China; Harbin Normal University, Harbin, Peoples Republic of China; and.
authors.forename: Lina
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Shahid
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mahbooband
authors.affiliation: Heilongjiang River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Harbin, Peoples Republic of China; National and Local United Engineering Lab for Freshwater Fish Breeding, Harbin, Peoples Republic of China; sunxw2002@163.com.
authors.forename: Xiaowen
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002397:Catfishes / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D063990:Gene Ontology; D005819:Genetic Markers; D059014:High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; D008297:Male; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D010053:Ovary / Q000502:physiology; D013737:Testis / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers
keywords: gene expression; sex-related; transcriptome sequencing