title: Figla Favors Ovarian Differentiation by Antagonizing Spermatogenesis in a Teleosts, Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus).
abstract: Figla (factor in the germ line, alpha), a female germ cell-specific transcription factor, had been shown to activate genetic hierarchies in oocytes. The ectopic expression of Figla was known to repress spermatogenesis-associated genes in male mice. However, the potential role of Figla in other vertebrates remains elusive. The present work was aimed to identify and characterize the functional relevance of Figla in the ovarian development of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). Tissue distribution and ontogeny analysis revealed that tilapia Figla gene was dominantly expressed in the ovary from 30 days after hatching. Immunohistochemistry analysis also demonstrated that Figla was expressed in the cytoplasm of early primary oocytes. Intriguingly, over-expression of Figla in XY fish resulted in the disruption of spermatogenesis along with the depletion of meiotic spermatocytes and spermatids in testis. Dramatic decline of sycp3 (synaptonemal complex protein 3) and prm (protamine) expression indicates that meiotic spermatocytes and mature sperm production are impaired. Even though Sertoli cell (dmrt1) and Leydig cell (star and cyp17a1) marker genes remained unaffected, hsd3b1 expression and 11-KT production were enhanced in Figla-transgene testis. Taken together, our data suggest that fish Figla might play an essential role in the ovarian development by antagonizing spermatogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Reproduction and Development (Ministry of Education), School of Life Science, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Yongxiu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Reproduction and Development (Ministry of Education), School of Life Science, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Shaohua
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: South Ehime Fisheries Research Center, Ehime University, Funakoshi, Ainan, Ehime, Japan.
authors.forename: Tapas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Charkraborty
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Reproduction and Development (Ministry of Education), School of Life Science, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Limin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Reproduction and Development (Ministry of Education), School of Life Science, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Lina
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Reproduction and Development (Ministry of Education), School of Life Science, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: South Ehime Fisheries Research Center, Ehime University, Funakoshi, Ainan, Ehime, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshitaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nagahama
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Reproduction and Development (Ministry of Education), School of Life Science, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Deshou
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Reproduction and Development (Ministry of Education), School of Life Science, Southwest University, Beibei, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Linyan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000728:Androgens; D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D001483:Base Sequence; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D023681:Cichlids / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D008297:Male; D010053:Ovary / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D010802:Phylogeny; D013091:Spermatogenesis; D013347:Subcellular Fractions / Q000378:metabolism; D026801:Synteny / Q000235:genetics; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D019076:Transgenes
chemical_list: D000728:Androgens; D014157:Transcription Factors