title: Discovery and identification of candidate sex-related genes based on transcriptome sequencing of Russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii) gonads.
abstract: As the Russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii) is an important food and is the main source of caviar, it is necessary to discover the genes associated with its sex differentiation. However, the complicated life and maturity cycles of the Russian sturgeon restrict the accurate identification of sex in early development. To generate a first look at specific sex-related genes, we sequenced the transcriptome of gonads in different development stages (1, 2, and 5 yr old stages) with next-generation RNA sequencing. We generated >60 million raw reads, and the filtered reads were assembled into 263,341 contigs, which produced 38,505 unigenes. Genes involved in signal transduction mechanisms were the most abundant, suggesting that development of sturgeon gonads is under control of signal transduction mechanisms. Differentially expressed gene analysis suggests that more genes for protein synthesis, cytochrome c oxidase subunits, and ribosomal proteins were expressed in female gonads than in male. Meanwhile, male gonads expressed more transposable element transposase, reverse transcriptase, and transposase-related genes than female. In total, 342, 782, and 7,845 genes were detected in intersex, male, and female transcriptomes, respectively. The female gonad expressed more genes than the male gonad, and more genes were involved in female gonadal development. Genes (sox9, foxl2) are differentially expressed in different sexes and may be important sex-related genes in Russian sturgeon. Sox9 genes are responsible for the development of male gonads and foxl2 for female gonads.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Sustainable Development of Marine Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Qingdao, China; Function Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Aoshanwei Town, Jimo, Qingdao, China; and.
authors.forename: Yadong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Hangzhou Qiandaohu Xunlong Sci-Tech Development Company Limited, Quzhou, China.
authors.forename: Yongtao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Sustainable Development of Marine Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Qingdao, China;
authors.forename: Changwei
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.affiliation: Hangzhou Qiandaohu Xunlong Sci-Tech Development Company Limited, Quzhou, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Sustainable Development of Marine Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Qingdao, China; Function Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Aoshanwei Town, Jimo, Qingdao, China; and.
authors.forename: Xuejie
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Sustainable Development of Marine Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Qingdao, China; Function Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Aoshanwei Town, Jimo, Qingdao, China; and.
authors.forename: Mengjun
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Sustainable Development of Marine Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Qingdao, China; Function Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Aoshanwei Town, Jimo, Qingdao, China; and shazhenxia@163.com.
authors.forename: Zhenxia
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Sha
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D029941:Fish Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D005399:Fishes / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D006066:Gonads / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D012426:Russia; D012733:Sex Differentiation / Q000235:genetics*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics; D059467:Transcriptome / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D029941:Fish Proteins
keywords: Russian sturgeon; gonad; sex-related genes; transcriptome