Evidence for the Functional Relevance of <i>vgll3</i> and <i>six6</i> οn Developmental Stages of Commercially Important Fish Species: Gilthead Seabream (<i>Sparus aurata</i> Linnaeus) and European Seabass (<i>Dicentrarchus labrax</i> Linnaeus)

The <i>six6</i> and <i>vgll3</i> genes play evolutionarily conserved roles in developmental processes and life history traits across species, including teleosts. Notable differences in genotype and allele frequencies of these genes have been observed between farmed and wild p...

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Main Authors: Aristotelis Moulistanos, Elisavet Kaitetzidou, Styliani Minoudi, Konstantinos Gkagkavouzis, Athanasios Kallimanis, Efthimia Antonopoulou, Alexandros Triantafyllidis, Spiros Papakostas
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Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-02-01
Series:Fishes
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2410-3888/10/3/96
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author Aristotelis Moulistanos
Elisavet Kaitetzidou
Styliani Minoudi
Konstantinos Gkagkavouzis
Athanasios Kallimanis
Efthimia Antonopoulou
Alexandros Triantafyllidis
Spiros Papakostas
author_facet Aristotelis Moulistanos
Elisavet Kaitetzidou
Styliani Minoudi
Konstantinos Gkagkavouzis
Athanasios Kallimanis
Efthimia Antonopoulou
Alexandros Triantafyllidis
Spiros Papakostas
author_sort Aristotelis Moulistanos
collection DOAJ
description The <i>six6</i> and <i>vgll3</i> genes play evolutionarily conserved roles in developmental processes and life history traits across species, including teleosts. Notable differences in genotype and allele frequencies of these genes have been observed between farmed and wild populations of European seabass and gilthead seabream, suggesting potential roles in traits associated with domestication. Here, we hypothesized that genetic variations in the <i>six6</i> and <i>vgll3</i> are associated with distinct expression profiles that underlie domestication-related traits in the two species. Using quantitative PCR (qPCR), we examined the expression profiles of these genes in early developmental stages across genotypes linked to domestication. Our results confirmed that <i>vgll3</i> and <i>six6</i> genotypes significantly influenced their expression in gilthead seabream, with statistically significant differences between genotypes. In European seabass, <i>six6</i> expression did not significantly differ among genotypes, although heterozygous larvae showed higher variability that decreased at the juvenile stage. Meanwhile, no genetic variation was observed in <i>vgll3</i>, precluding genotype-specific expression analysis. Altogether, our findings provide the first evidence confirming that prior DNA-based associations of these genes with domestication traits are reflected at the mRNA level, particularly in <i>vgll3</i> in gilthead seabream. This highlights the potential functional relevance of these genetic variations in shaping expression profiles linked to domestication in the species.
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spelling doaj-art-812fe85b59d447eca584d5a87bd7691f2025-08-20T02:11:05ZengMDPI AGFishes2410-38882025-02-011039610.3390/fishes10030096Evidence for the Functional Relevance of <i>vgll3</i> and <i>six6</i> οn Developmental Stages of Commercially Important Fish Species: Gilthead Seabream (<i>Sparus aurata</i> Linnaeus) and European Seabass (<i>Dicentrarchus labrax</i> Linnaeus)Aristotelis Moulistanos0Elisavet Kaitetzidou1Styliani Minoudi2Konstantinos Gkagkavouzis3Athanasios Kallimanis4Efthimia Antonopoulou5Alexandros Triantafyllidis6Spiros Papakostas7Department of Genetics, Development and Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Faculty of Science, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, GreeceDepartment of Genetics, Development and Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Faculty of Science, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, GreeceDepartment of Genetics, Development and Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Faculty of Science, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, GreeceDepartment of Genetics, Development and Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Faculty of Science, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, GreeceDepartment of Ecology, School of Biology, Faculty of Science, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, GreeceDepartment of Zoology, School of Biology, Faculty of Science, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, GreeceDepartment of Genetics, Development and Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Faculty of Science, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, GreeceDepartment of Science and Technology, International Hellenic University, 57001 Thessaloniki, GreeceThe <i>six6</i> and <i>vgll3</i> genes play evolutionarily conserved roles in developmental processes and life history traits across species, including teleosts. Notable differences in genotype and allele frequencies of these genes have been observed between farmed and wild populations of European seabass and gilthead seabream, suggesting potential roles in traits associated with domestication. Here, we hypothesized that genetic variations in the <i>six6</i> and <i>vgll3</i> are associated with distinct expression profiles that underlie domestication-related traits in the two species. Using quantitative PCR (qPCR), we examined the expression profiles of these genes in early developmental stages across genotypes linked to domestication. Our results confirmed that <i>vgll3</i> and <i>six6</i> genotypes significantly influenced their expression in gilthead seabream, with statistically significant differences between genotypes. In European seabass, <i>six6</i> expression did not significantly differ among genotypes, although heterozygous larvae showed higher variability that decreased at the juvenile stage. Meanwhile, no genetic variation was observed in <i>vgll3</i>, precluding genotype-specific expression analysis. Altogether, our findings provide the first evidence confirming that prior DNA-based associations of these genes with domestication traits are reflected at the mRNA level, particularly in <i>vgll3</i> in gilthead seabream. This highlights the potential functional relevance of these genetic variations in shaping expression profiles linked to domestication in the species.https://www.mdpi.com/2410-3888/10/3/96developmental processgene expression profilinggenetic variationmarine teleostquantitative PCR (qPCR)
spellingShingle Aristotelis Moulistanos
Elisavet Kaitetzidou
Styliani Minoudi
Konstantinos Gkagkavouzis
Athanasios Kallimanis
Efthimia Antonopoulou
Alexandros Triantafyllidis
Spiros Papakostas
Evidence for the Functional Relevance of <i>vgll3</i> and <i>six6</i> οn Developmental Stages of Commercially Important Fish Species: Gilthead Seabream (<i>Sparus aurata</i> Linnaeus) and European Seabass (<i>Dicentrarchus labrax</i> Linnaeus)
Fishes
developmental process
gene expression profiling
genetic variation
marine teleost
quantitative PCR (qPCR)
title Evidence for the Functional Relevance of <i>vgll3</i> and <i>six6</i> οn Developmental Stages of Commercially Important Fish Species: Gilthead Seabream (<i>Sparus aurata</i> Linnaeus) and European Seabass (<i>Dicentrarchus labrax</i> Linnaeus)
title_full Evidence for the Functional Relevance of <i>vgll3</i> and <i>six6</i> οn Developmental Stages of Commercially Important Fish Species: Gilthead Seabream (<i>Sparus aurata</i> Linnaeus) and European Seabass (<i>Dicentrarchus labrax</i> Linnaeus)
title_fullStr Evidence for the Functional Relevance of <i>vgll3</i> and <i>six6</i> οn Developmental Stages of Commercially Important Fish Species: Gilthead Seabream (<i>Sparus aurata</i> Linnaeus) and European Seabass (<i>Dicentrarchus labrax</i> Linnaeus)
title_full_unstemmed Evidence for the Functional Relevance of <i>vgll3</i> and <i>six6</i> οn Developmental Stages of Commercially Important Fish Species: Gilthead Seabream (<i>Sparus aurata</i> Linnaeus) and European Seabass (<i>Dicentrarchus labrax</i> Linnaeus)
title_short Evidence for the Functional Relevance of <i>vgll3</i> and <i>six6</i> οn Developmental Stages of Commercially Important Fish Species: Gilthead Seabream (<i>Sparus aurata</i> Linnaeus) and European Seabass (<i>Dicentrarchus labrax</i> Linnaeus)
title_sort evidence for the functional relevance of i vgll3 i and i six6 i οn developmental stages of commercially important fish species gilthead seabream i sparus aurata i linnaeus and european seabass i dicentrarchus labrax i linnaeus
topic developmental process
gene expression profiling
genetic variation
marine teleost
quantitative PCR (qPCR)
url https://www.mdpi.com/2410-3888/10/3/96
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