title: Sex-specific and developmental expression of Dmrt genes in the starlet sea anemone, Nematostella vectensis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The molecular mechanisms underlying sex determination and differentiation in animals are incredibly diverse. The Dmrt (doublesex and mab-3 related transcription factor) gene family is an evolutionary ancient group of transcription factors dating to the ancestor of metazoans that are, in part, involved in sex determination and differentiation in numerous bilaterian animals and thus represents a potentially conserved mechanism for differentiating males and females dating to the protostome-deuterostome ancestor. Recently, the diversity of this gene family throughout animals has been described, but the expression and potential function for Dmrt genes is not well understood outside the bilaterians.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Here, we report sex- and developmental-specific expression of all 11 Dmrts in the starlet sea anemone Nematostella vectensis. Nine out of the eleven Dmrts showed significant differences in developmental expression, with the highest expression typically in the adult stage and, in some cases, with little or no expression measured during embryogenesis. When expression was compared in females and males, seven of the eleven Dmrt genes had significant differences in expression with higher expression in males than in females for six of the genes. Lastly, expressions of two Dmrt genes with differential expression in each sex are located in the mesenteries and into the pharynx in polyps.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results show that the phylogenetic diversity of Dmrt genes in N. vectensis is matched by an equally diverse pattern of expression during development and in each sex. This dynamic expression suggests multiple functions for Dmrt genes likely present in early diverging metazoans. Detailed functional analyses of individual genes will inform hypotheses regarding the antiquity of function for these transcription factors.
authors.affiliation: Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, 120 Ocean View Blvd, Pacific Grove, CA 93950 USA.
authors.forename: Nikki G
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Traylor-Knowles
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28223 USA.
authors.forename: Eric G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Kane
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28223 USA.
authors.forename: Vanna
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sombatsaphay
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Boston University, 5 Cummington Mall, Boston, MA 02215 USA.
authors.forename: John R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Finnerty
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28223 USA.
authors.forename: Adam M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Reitzel
keywords: DMRT; Gene expression; Nematostella vectensis; Sex determination