Comparative transcriptome analysis identified genes involved in ovarian development in Takifugu rubripes

Mingtao Hu; Hongwei Yan; Jinfeng Chen; Rui Gao; Weiyuan Li; Huiting Zhou; Jia Wang; Qi Liu; Xiuli Wang; Pengfei Hu; Chuang Fu

doi:10.1016/j.cbd.2024.101407

Comparative transcriptome analysis identified genes involved in ovarian development in Takifugu rubripes

Comp Biochem Physiol Part D Genomics Proteomics. 2024 Dec 22:54:101407. doi: 10.1016/j.cbd.2024.101407. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Mingtao Hu¹, Hongwei Yan¹, Jinfeng Chen², Rui Gao², Weiyuan Li³, Huiting Zhou¹, Jia Wang¹, Qi Liu⁴, Xiuli Wang⁵, Pengfei Hu⁶, Chuang Fu⁷

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Environment Controlled Aquaculture (Dalian Ocean University), Ministry of Education, 116023, China; College of Fisheries and Life Science, Dalian Ocean University, 116023 Dalian, China; Key Laboratory of Pufferfish Breeding and Culture in Liaoning Province, Dalian Ocean University, 116023 Dalian, Liaoning, China.
² Key Laboratory of Environment Controlled Aquaculture (Dalian Ocean University), Ministry of Education, 116023, China; College of Marine Science and Environment Engineering, Dalian Ocean University, 116023 Dalian, Liaoning, China; Key Laboratory of Pufferfish Breeding and Culture in Liaoning Province, Dalian Ocean University, 116023 Dalian, Liaoning, China.
³ College of Fisheries and Life Science, Dalian Ocean University, 116023 Dalian, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Environment Controlled Aquaculture (Dalian Ocean University), Ministry of Education, 116023, China; College of Marine Science and Environment Engineering, Dalian Ocean University, 116023 Dalian, Liaoning, China; Key Laboratory of Pufferfish Breeding and Culture in Liaoning Province, Dalian Ocean University, 116023 Dalian, Liaoning, China. Electronic address: liuqisunson@163.com.
⁵ College of Fisheries and Life Science, Dalian Ocean University, 116023 Dalian, China; Key Laboratory of Pufferfish Breeding and Culture in Liaoning Province, Dalian Ocean University, 116023 Dalian, Liaoning, China.
⁶ Inner Mongolia Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Technology Promotion Center, Inner Mongolia 015199, China.
⁷ Changhai County Marine and Fisheries Comprehensive Administrative LawEnforcement Team, Dalian, China.

PMID: 39736263
DOI: 10.1016/j.cbd.2024.101407

Abstract

Ovarian development is a complex process involving multiple genes, but the molecular mechanisms underlying this process in Takifugu rubripes remain poorly understood. This study aimed to identify genes associated with ovarian development in T. rubripes and to investigate the regulatory mechanisms of oocyte maturation. Transcriptome data were compared across four different developmental stages (stage II to V) to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and perform GO and KEGG enrichment analysis. The expression patterns of randomly selected genes were then validated by qPCR. The results yielded a total of 1,289,401,820 raw data from all libraries, with 16,929 DEGs identified across all comparison groups. The DEGs were predominantly enriched in ovarian steroidogenesis, estrogen-mediated signaling, and TGF-beta signaling pathways. The qPCR analysis showed that cyp17a1 was identified as being expressed at similar levels in stage II and III. Thereafter, cyp17a1 was observed to undergo a continuous increase in expression from stage III to V. cyp19a1, nanos1, foxl2 and ar were identified as being expressed at similar levels at stage II and III, then increase in expression from stage III to IV and subsequent downregulation from stage IV to V. hsd17b1 was identified as being expressed at similar levels at stage II and IV. This study represents a transcriptomic study of ovarian development in female T. rubripes. Several essential ovarian-related genes and sex-related biological pathways were identified. The results will improve our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying ovarian development in this species.

Keywords: Ovary and ovarian development; RNA-Seq; Takifugu rubripes.