title: Transcriptome Sequencing and Comparative Analysis of Ovary and Testis Identifies Potential Key Sex-Related Genes and Pathways in Scallop Patinopecten yessoensis.
abstract: Bivalve mollusks have fascinatingly diverse modes of reproduction. However, research investigating sex determination and reproductive regulation in this group of animals is still in its infancy. In this study, transcriptomes of three ovaries and three testes of Yesso scallop were sequenced and analyzed. Transcriptome comparison revealed that 4394 genes were significantly different between ovaries and testes, of which 1973 were ovary-biased (upregulated in the ovaries) and 2421 were testis-biased. Crucial sex-determining genes that were previously reported in vertebrates and putatively present in bivalves, namely FOXL2, DMRT, SOXH, and SOXE, were investigated. The genes all possessed conserved functional domains and were detected in the gonads. Except for PySOXE, the other three genes were significantly differentially expressed between the ovaries and testes. PyFOXL2 was ovary-biased, and PyDMRT and PySOXH were testis-biased, suggesting that these three genes are likely to be key candidates for scallop sex determination/differentiation. Furthermore, GO and KEGG enrichment analyses were conducted for both ovary- and testis-biased genes. Interestingly, both neurotransmitter transporters and GABAergic synapse genes were overrepresented in the ovary-biased genes, suggesting that neurotransmitters, such as GABA and glycine, are likely to participate in scallop ovary development. Our study will assist in better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying bivalve sex determination and reproductive regulation.
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Marine Genetics and Breeding, College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China.
authors.forename: Yangping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Marine Genetics and Breeding, College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China. lingling80@ouc.edu.cn.|Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China. lingling80@ouc.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Lingling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Marine Genetics and Breeding, College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Marine Genetics and Breeding, College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Marine Genetics and Breeding, College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Marine Genetics and Breeding, College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China.
authors.forename: Ruojiao
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Marine Genetics and Breeding, College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China.
authors.forename: Meiwei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Marine Genetics and Breeding, College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China.|Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China.
authors.forename: Shi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Marine Genetics and Breeding, College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China.|Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Marine Genetics and Breeding, College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China.|Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China.
authors.forename: Zhenmin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Bao
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D063990:Gene Ontology; D008297:Male; D058977:Molecular Sequence Annotation; D050479:Neurotransmitter Transport Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D010053:Ovary / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D049897:Pectinidae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D018079:Receptors, GABA / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D055757:SOXE Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D019849:Sex Determination Processes; D013737:Testis / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D059467:Transcriptome
chemical_list: D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors; D050479:Neurotransmitter Transport Proteins; D018079:Receptors, GABA; D055757:SOXE Transcription Factors
keywords: Gonad transcriptome; Neurotransmitter; Reproductive regulation; Sex determination; Yesso scallop