title: Molecular cloning and characterization of amh and dax1 genes and their expression during sex inversion in rice-field eel Monopterus albus.
abstract: The full-length cDNAs of amh and dax1 in the hermaphrodite, rice-field eel (Monopterus albus), were cloned and characterized in this study. Multiple sequence alignment revealed Dax1 was well conserved among vertebrates, whereas Amh had a low degree of similarity between different vertebrates. Their expression profiles in gonads during the course of sex inversion and tissues were investigated. The tissue distribution indicated amh was expressed mostly in gonads and was scarcely detectable in other tissues, whereas the expression of dax1 was widespread among the different tissues, especially liver and gonads. amh was scarcely detectable in ovaries whereas it was abundantly expressed in both ovotestis and testis. By contrast, dax1 was highly expressed in ovaries, especially in ♀IV (ovaries in IV stage), but it was decreased significantly in ♀/♂I (ovotestis in I stage). Its expression was increased again in ♀/♂III (ovotestis in III stage), and then decreased to a low level in testis. These significant different expression patterns of amh and dax1 suggest the increase of amh expression and the decline of dax1 expression are important for the activation of testis development, and the high level of amh and a low level of dax1 expression are necessary for maintenance of testis function.
authors.affiliation: College of Fisheries, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.|Freshwater Aquaculture Collaborative Innovation Center of Hubei Province, Wuhan 430070, China.|Key Laboratory of Freshwater Animal Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture, Wuhan 430070, China.
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: College of Fisheries, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.|Freshwater Aquaculture Collaborative Innovation Center of Hubei Province, Wuhan 430070, China.|Key Laboratory of Freshwater Animal Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture, Wuhan 430070, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: College of Fisheries, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.|Freshwater Aquaculture Collaborative Innovation Center of Hubei Province, Wuhan 430070, China.|Key Laboratory of Freshwater Animal Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture, Wuhan 430070, China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: College of Fisheries, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.|Freshwater Aquaculture Collaborative Innovation Center of Hubei Province, Wuhan 430070, China.|Key Laboratory of Freshwater Animal Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture, Wuhan 430070, China.
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: College of Fisheries, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.|Life Science College, Hunan University of Arts and Science, Changde 415000, China.|Freshwater Aquaculture Collaborative Innovation Center of Hubei Province, Wuhan 430070, China.|Key Laboratory of Freshwater Animal Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture, Wuhan 430070, China.
authors.forename: Dapeng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D054304:Anti-Mullerian Hormone / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D057137:DAX-1 Orphan Nuclear Receptor / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005399:Fishes / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D015870:Gene Expression; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009928:Organ Specificity / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012733:Sex Differentiation / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D057137:DAX-1 Orphan Nuclear Receptor; D054304:Anti-Mullerian Hormone