Dataset Information

Discovery of a receptor guanylate cyclase expressed in the sperm flagella of stony corals.

ABSTRACT: The receptor guanylate cyclases (rGCs) in animals serve as sensitive chemoreceptors to detect both chemical and environmental cues. In reproduction, rGCs were shown to be expressed on sperm and serve as receptors for egg-derived sperm-activating and sperm-attracting factors in some echinoderms and mammals. However, sperm-associated rGCs have only been identified in some deuterostomes thus far, and it remains unclear how widely rGCs are utilized in metazoan reproduction. To address this issue, this study investigated the existence and expression of rGCs, particularly asking if rGCs are involved in the reproduction of a basal metazoan, phylum Cnidaria, using the stony coral Euphyllia ancora. Six paralogous rGCs were identified from a transcriptome database of E. ancora, and one of the rGCs, GC-A, was shown to be specifically expressed in the testis. Immunohistochemical analyses demonstrated that E. ancora GC-A protein was expressed in the spermatocytes and spermatids and eventually congregated on the sperm flagella during spermatogenesis. These findings suggest that GC-A may be involved in the regulation of sperm activity and/or functions (e.g., fertilization) in corals. This study is the first to perform molecular characterization of rGCs in cnidarians and provides evidence for the possible involvement of rGCs in the reproduction of basal metazoans.

SUBMITTER: Zhang Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6787079 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Discovery of a receptor guanylate cyclase expressed in the sperm flagella of stony corals.

Zhang Yan Y Chiu Yi-Ling YL Chen Chieh-Jhen CJ Ho Yu-Ying YY Shinzato Chuya C Shikina Shinya S Chang Ching-Fong CF

Scientific reports 20191010 1

The receptor guanylate cyclases (rGCs) in animals serve as sensitive chemoreceptors to detect both chemical and environmental cues. In reproduction, rGCs were shown to be expressed on sperm and serve as receptors for egg-derived sperm-activating and sperm-attracting factors in some echinoderms and mammals. However, sperm-associated rGCs have only been identified in some deuterostomes thus far, and it remains unclear how widely rGCs are utilized in metazoan reproduction. To address this issue, th ...[more]

PMID: 31601940

Similar Datasets

Project description:A comprehensive understanding of coral reproduction and development is needed because corals are threatened in many ways by human activity. Major threats include the loss of their photosynthetic symbionts (Symbiodinium) caused by rising temperatures (bleaching), reduced ability to calcify caused by ocean acidification, increased storm severity associated with global climate change and an increase in predators caused by runoff from human agricultural activity. In spite of these threats, detailed descriptions of embryonic development are not available for many coral species. The current consensus is that there are two major groups of stony corals, the "complex" and the "robust". In this paper we describe the embryonic development of four "complex" species, Pseudosiderastrea tayamai, Galaxea fascicularis, Montipora hispida, and Pavona Decussata, and seven "robust" species, Oulastrea crispata, Platygyra contorta, Favites abdita, Echinophyllia aspera, Goniastrea favulus, Dipsastraea speciosa (previously Favia speciosa), and Phymastrea valenciennesi (previously Montastrea valenciennesi). Data from both histologically sectioned embryos and whole mounts are presented. One apparent difference between these two major groups is that before gastrulation the cells of the complex corals thus far described (mainly Acropora species) spread and flatten to produce the so-called prawn chip, which lacks a blastocoel. Our present broad survey of robust and complex corals reveals that prawn chip formation is not a synapomorphy of complex corals, as Pavona Decussata does not form a prawn chip and has a well-developed blastocoel. Although prawn chip formation cannot be used to separate the two clades, none of the robust corals which we surveyed has such a stage. Many robust coral embryos pass through two periods of invagination, separated by a return to a spherical shape. However, only the second of these periods is associated with endoderm formation. We have therefore termed the first invagination a pseudo-blastopore.

Dataset Information

Discovery of a receptor guanylate cyclase expressed in the sperm flagella of stony corals.

Publications

Discovery of a receptor guanylate cyclase expressed in the sperm flagella of stony corals.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets