title: Complete depletion of primordial germ cells in an All-female fish leads to Sex-biased gene expression alteration and sterile All-male occurrence.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Gynogenesis is one of unisexual reproduction modes in vertebrates, and produces all-female individuals with identical genetic background. In sexual reproduction vertebrates, the roles of primordial germ cells on sexual dimorphism and gonadal differentiation have been largely studied, and two distinct functional models have been proposed. However, the role of primordial germ cells remains unknown in unisexual animals, and it is also unclear whether the functional models in sexual reproduction animals are common in unisexual animals.
  
  
  RESULTS
  To solve these puzzles, we attempt to utilize the gynogenetic superiority of polyploid Carassius gibelio to create a complete germ cell-depleted gonad model by a similar morpholino-mediated knockdown approach used in other examined sexual reproduction fishes. Through the germ cell-depleted gonad model, we have performed comprehensive and comparative transcriptome analysis, and revealed a complete alteration of sex-biased gene expression. Moreover, the expression alteration leads to up-regulation of testis-biased genes and down-regulation of ovary-biased genes, and results in the occurrence of sterile all-males with testis-like gonads and secondary sex characteristics in the germ cell-depleted gynogenetic Carassius gibelio.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our current results have demonstrated that unisexual gynogenetic embryos remain keeping male sex determination information in the genome, and the complete depletion of primordial germ cells in the all-female fish leads to sex-biased gene expression alteration and sterile all-male occurrence.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, China.
authors.forename: Shi-Zhu
authors.initials: SZ
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, China.
authors.forename: Zhi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, China.
authors.forename: Xi-Yin
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, China.
authors.forename: Jian-Xiang
authors.initials: JX
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Juan
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, China. jfgui@ihb.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Jian-Fang
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Gui
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003530:Cyprinidae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D010063:Ovum / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D010641:Phenotype; D011123:Polyploidy; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012733:Sex Differentiation; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D013737:Testis / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D059467:Transcriptome / Q000502:physiology*