Gonadal soma-derived factor (gsdf), a TGF-beta superfamily gene, induces testis differentiation in the teleost fish Oreochromis niloticus.
The Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, is a gonochoristic teleost fish with an XX/XY genetic system and is an excellent model for gonadal sex differentiation. In the present study, we screened novel genes that were expressed predominantly in either XY or XX undifferentiated gonads during the critical period for differentiation of gonads into ovaries or testes using microarray screening. We focused on one of the isolated 12 candidate genes, #9475, which was an ortholog of gsdf (gonadal soma-derived factor), a member of the transforming growth factor-beta superfamily. #9475/gsdf showed sexual dimorphism in expression in XY gonads before any other testis differentiation-related genes identified in this species thus far. We also overexpressed the #9475/gsdf gene in XX tilapia, and XX tilapia bearing the #9475/gsdf gene showed normal testis development, which suggests that #9475/gsdf plays an important role in male determination and/or differentiation in tilapia.
Laboratory of Reproductive Biology, National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan; SORST, Japan Science Technology Corporation, Kawaguchi, Saitama 332-0012, Japan. Electronic address: hkaneko@nibb.ac.jp.
Hiroyo
H
Kaneko
Laboratory of Reproductive Biology, National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan; SORST, Japan Science Technology Corporation, Kawaguchi, Saitama 332-0012, Japan; Division of Marine Life Science, Graduate School of Fisheries Sciences, Hokkaido University, Hakodate, Hokkaido 041-8611, Japan. Electronic address: ijiri@fish.hokudai.ac.jp.
Shigeho
S
Ijiri
Laboratory of Reproductive Biology, National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan; Laboratory of Molecular Reproductive Biology, Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Shizuoka, Shizuoka 422-8526, Japan. Electronic address: tohruk@u-shizuoka-ken.ac.jp.
Tohru
T
Kobayashi
Division of Marine Life Science, Graduate School of Fisheries Sciences, Hokkaido University, Hakodate, Hokkaido 041-8611, Japan. Electronic address: h-izumi@eis.hokudai.ac.jp.
Hikari
H
Izumi
Division of Marine Life Science, Graduate School of Fisheries Sciences, Hokkaido University, Hakodate, Hokkaido 041-8611, Japan. Electronic address: yuki.kuramochi15@gmail.com.
Yuki
Y
Kuramochi
Laboratory of Reproductive Biology, National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan; SORST, Japan Science Technology Corporation, Kawaguchi, Saitama 332-0012, Japan. Electronic address: wdeshou@swu.edu.cn.
De-Shou
DS
Wang
Division of Marine Life Science, Graduate School of Fisheries Sciences, Hokkaido University, Hakodate, Hokkaido 041-8611, Japan. Electronic address: mizunoshouta1003@frontier.hokudai.ac.jp.
Shouta
S
Mizuno
Laboratory of Reproductive Biology, National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan; SORST, Japan Science Technology Corporation, Kawaguchi, Saitama 332-0012, Japan; South Ehime Fisheries Research Center, Ehime University, Matsuyama, Ehime 790-8577, Japan. Electronic address: nagahama.yoshitaka.mh@ehime-u.ac.jp.
Yoshitaka
Y
Nagahama
D000818:Animals; D023681:Cichlids / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D008297:Male; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis / Q000379:methods; D010802:Phylogeny; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012733:Sex Differentiation; D013737:Testis / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*
D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta
Nile tilapia; Sex determination; Sex differentiation; dmrt1; gsdf