Expression patterns of kiss2 and gpr54‐2 in Monopterus albus suggest these genes may play a role in sex reversal in fish

Due to its exceptionally small genome size and protogynous hermaphroditism, Monopterus albus has been proposed as a model for vertebrate sexual development. The Kiss/GPR54 system is a central regulator of sexual development in most vertebrates, but its role in sex reversal remains hypothetical. In c...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ti‐Lin Yi, Meng‐Ting Pei, Dai‐Qin Yang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2019-10-01
Series:FEBS Open Bio
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/2211-5463.12727
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850175931334787072
author Ti‐Lin Yi
Meng‐Ting Pei
Dai‐Qin Yang
author_facet Ti‐Lin Yi
Meng‐Ting Pei
Dai‐Qin Yang
author_sort Ti‐Lin Yi
collection DOAJ
description Due to its exceptionally small genome size and protogynous hermaphroditism, Monopterus albus has been proposed as a model for vertebrate sexual development. The Kiss/GPR54 system is a central regulator of sexual development in most vertebrates, but its role in sex reversal remains hypothetical. In contrast to mammals, fishes often possess more than one copy of the kiss and gpr54 genes. Our objectives were to identify all kiss/gpr54 genes in the genome of M. albus and to assess their involvement in sex reversal via their expression patterns (qPCR) in females, males, and intersex specimens. We identified only two genes: kiss2 and gpr54‐2. kiss2 expression was extremely high in the gonads of males, intermediate in females, and low in intersex; and reduced in all tissues of intersex. gpr54 expression was also extremely high in the gonads of males, high in intersex, but low in females. gpr54 expression in brain was high in all three sexes. In conclusion, (a) kiss1 has been functionally replaced in M. albus; (b) the functions of gpr54‐2 in brain are not sex‐specific; (c) kiss2 appears to undergo a ‘reset’ in the expression during the sex change; and (d) sex‐specific expression patterns in the gonads indicate that these two genes may play a role in sex reversal in fish.
format Article
id doaj-art-539660a2d50441febd67fc2ac6b1beb2
institution OA Journals
issn 2211-5463
language English
publishDate 2019-10-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series FEBS Open Bio
spelling doaj-art-539660a2d50441febd67fc2ac6b1beb22025-08-20T02:19:22ZengWileyFEBS Open Bio2211-54632019-10-019101835184410.1002/2211-5463.12727Expression patterns of kiss2 and gpr54‐2 in Monopterus albus suggest these genes may play a role in sex reversal in fishTi‐Lin Yi0Meng‐Ting Pei1Dai‐Qin Yang2Yangtze University Engineering Research Center for Ecology and Agriculture Use of Wetland, Ministry of Education Jingzhou ChinaHubei Provincial Engineering and Technology Research Center for Monopterus albus Jingzhou ChinaYangtze University Engineering Research Center for Ecology and Agriculture Use of Wetland, Ministry of Education Jingzhou ChinaDue to its exceptionally small genome size and protogynous hermaphroditism, Monopterus albus has been proposed as a model for vertebrate sexual development. The Kiss/GPR54 system is a central regulator of sexual development in most vertebrates, but its role in sex reversal remains hypothetical. In contrast to mammals, fishes often possess more than one copy of the kiss and gpr54 genes. Our objectives were to identify all kiss/gpr54 genes in the genome of M. albus and to assess their involvement in sex reversal via their expression patterns (qPCR) in females, males, and intersex specimens. We identified only two genes: kiss2 and gpr54‐2. kiss2 expression was extremely high in the gonads of males, intermediate in females, and low in intersex; and reduced in all tissues of intersex. gpr54 expression was also extremely high in the gonads of males, high in intersex, but low in females. gpr54 expression in brain was high in all three sexes. In conclusion, (a) kiss1 has been functionally replaced in M. albus; (b) the functions of gpr54‐2 in brain are not sex‐specific; (c) kiss2 appears to undergo a ‘reset’ in the expression during the sex change; and (d) sex‐specific expression patterns in the gonads indicate that these two genes may play a role in sex reversal in fish.https://doi.org/10.1002/2211-5463.12727Asian swamp eelgene expressionHPG axisKisspeptin/GPR54 system
spellingShingle Ti‐Lin Yi
Meng‐Ting Pei
Dai‐Qin Yang
Expression patterns of kiss2 and gpr54‐2 in Monopterus albus suggest these genes may play a role in sex reversal in fish
FEBS Open Bio
Asian swamp eel
gene expression
HPG axis
Kisspeptin/GPR54 system
title Expression patterns of kiss2 and gpr54‐2 in Monopterus albus suggest these genes may play a role in sex reversal in fish
title_full Expression patterns of kiss2 and gpr54‐2 in Monopterus albus suggest these genes may play a role in sex reversal in fish
title_fullStr Expression patterns of kiss2 and gpr54‐2 in Monopterus albus suggest these genes may play a role in sex reversal in fish
title_full_unstemmed Expression patterns of kiss2 and gpr54‐2 in Monopterus albus suggest these genes may play a role in sex reversal in fish
title_short Expression patterns of kiss2 and gpr54‐2 in Monopterus albus suggest these genes may play a role in sex reversal in fish
title_sort expression patterns of kiss2 and gpr54 2 in monopterus albus suggest these genes may play a role in sex reversal in fish
topic Asian swamp eel
gene expression
HPG axis
Kisspeptin/GPR54 system
url https://doi.org/10.1002/2211-5463.12727
work_keys_str_mv AT tilinyi expressionpatternsofkiss2andgpr542inmonopterusalbussuggestthesegenesmayplayaroleinsexreversalinfish
AT mengtingpei expressionpatternsofkiss2andgpr542inmonopterusalbussuggestthesegenesmayplayaroleinsexreversalinfish
AT daiqinyang expressionpatternsofkiss2andgpr542inmonopterusalbussuggestthesegenesmayplayaroleinsexreversalinfish